Holidays Are for Family
by Hope Mikaelson-Clarke
Summary: Disclaimer: I don't own The Vampire Diaries, The Originals or Legacies.
1. A Not So Jolly Holiday Party

Holidays Are for Family

Chapter 1: A Not So Jolly Holiday Party

 **Summary:** Christmas finds the entirety of the Mikaelson clan gathering in New Orleans for Christmas. Things aren't quite as jolly and happy as they should be.

 **Disclaimer:** I don't own The Vampire Diaries, The Originals or Legacies.

Family had always been important to the Mikaelson siblings. For a millennium, it had been varying on who was awake and together, but even when Klaus had his siblings daggered and in coffins, they were kept close by. But everyone was finally alive and well, and the threat of the daggers didn't hang over Finn, Elijah, Kol and Rebekah's heads nearly as much or as often as it used to. They had their niece to thank for that. At least for the most part. The rest of it was because everyone in the family had found the one person that they couldn't live without, and everyone was happy at the same time. Something that had never happened in all the years that the Mikaelsons had been roaming the earth.

Klaus had finally gotten together with Caroline Forbes, was surprisingly okay with the fact that she had carried Alaric Saltzman's twin daughters and had raised them as her own. Klaus even saw Josie and Lizzie as his surrogate daughters. Rebekah had reconnected with Stefan Salvatore, and the two were going strong. Elijah finally admitted his feelings for Elena Gilbert, and she had responded with admitting her own feelings. They were now engaged, and the family had, after some time and convincing from Elijah, accepted Elena into the family. Kol had met Davina Claire, reformed his homicidal tendencies and the two were married. Finn had taken some time to get acquainted with the 21st century and then had gone out to find his true love, Sage, and upon finding her, had immediately asked her to marry him, and the two were going on 3 years of marriage.

During all of that, the eldest Mikaelson siblings, Freya, had broken out of the curse that their aunt Dahlia had placed her under, sleeping for 99 years and being awake for 1 year before going back to sleep for another 99 years. The cycle had repeated for the past millennium, and Freya was thankful to be free of that and to be with the family that she had been taken away from as a child. She had even found a girlfriend, Keelin, and they were happy together. And on top of the Mikaelson siblings all being reunited, but before Klaus had gotten together with Caroline, he had had a one night stand with Hayley Marshall, resulting in Hayley getting pregnant with Klaus' child. It hadn't been thought possible, but when it was revealed that it was Klaus' werewolf side that could still reproduce, given that Hayley was also a werewolf, due to him having been born with the gene, Hayley and the baby were brought into the family and protected against any outside threats.

And while Klaus and Hayley co-parented their daughter Hope, they had quickly figured out that they weren't meant to be more than friends. Even now with Klaus being with Caroline, Hayley being in her own separate relationship with fellow werewolf, Jackson, and Hope being a teenager, Hayley was still considered to be part of the family. So when the first Christmas came around where everyone was happy, Klaus and Caroline had invited everyone down to New Orleans for the holidays. To say it was a full house, and very loud would be an understatement. Not only was it Klaus, Caroline and Hope, but Freya and Keelin; Finn and Sage; Elijah and Elena; Kol and Davina; Rebekah and Stefan; Alaric, Josie and Lizzie; Hayley and Jackson. 18 people, all of whom were a supernatural being of some kind. But even with 17 other people in the house, Hope felt alone.

Her mother was preoccupied with Jackson, her father was preoccupied with Caroline and the twins, and her aunts and uncles were all talking to their significant others. But it was right when Hope thought she would be able to slip away without being detected that Alaric stepped in her path and blocked her escape route. Raising an eyebrow at him, Hope went to sidestep around him, but Alaric anticipated her movement and blocked her path again.

"You're in my way." Hope said.

"I'm aware. But something is about to happen, and I think your father would very much want you to be present for it." Alaric replied lightly placing his hands on her shoulders and turning her back around.

"And how exactly do you know that something's about to happen?" Hope asked, reluctantly letting him guide her back towards the rest of her family.

"Because he asked for my blessing... and asked for my advice." Alaric replied.

Hope rolled her eyes at his vagueness. A guy asking for an older guy's blessing meant one thing. Her father was planning on asking Caroline to marry him. It was already twisted enough that the woman that was almost her aunt was the step-sister of her surrogate sisters, making her surrogate sisters her soon to be step-aunts, through marriage, and just trying to sort out all of the family relations was making Hope's head hurt. Dropping herself into a chair, Hope rested her chin in her hands and stared off into space until and hand came to rest on her shoulder. Glancing up, she attempted a smile in response to the one Elena was giving her.

"Are you okay, Hope?" Elena asked.

"I have a headache growing, and Alaric insists that I stay here because my father asked for Alaric's blessing and advice on something. Something that my father apparently wants me present for." Hope replied sullenly.

"You feel left out." Elena surmised.

"Yes. It's Christmas, I get that one of the main things about Christmas is being with family. And I love everyone here, really, I do. But at the same time, my parents have seemingly ignored my existence all night." Hope replied, quickly blinking back the tears that were threatening to spill down her cheeks.

"Have you tried going to them?" Elena asked.

"No. But look at them. Mom is so wrapped up in whatever Jackson is saying, that it's like she's oblivious to everything else that's happening in the room. And Dad is talking to the twins, probably asking them to help him propose to Caroline. It's like I'm not even here." Hope said.

"You know that's not true, Hope." Elijah said as he came over and sat on the arm rest of the chair that Hope was sitting in before pulling Elena towards him.

"Can't I just go up to my room?" Hope asked, looking wishful up at her uncle.

"You might think that you're parents are acting like you aren't here, but as soon as you leave the room, they will both wonder where you went." Elijah explained.

"Yeah, right." Hope said with a humorless laugh. "We could test that theory. See how long it takes them to realize I'm not here." She suggested.

"Hope..." Elijah said warningly.

"She makes a good point, Elijah." Elena said.

"You two are the second and third person who have talked to me since everyone showed up. Tell me how that translates to anything _other_ than my existence here tonight being ignored, Uncle Elijah." Hope challenged.

"I'm sure that's not true." Elijah countered.

"It is. I got the basic greetings as everyone showed up, and then nothing until I tried to leave, and Alaric stopped me." Hope said with a huff.

"Not even the twins?" Elijah asked.

"Not even the twins. As soon as they got here with Alaric, they went straight to Dad and Caroline and have been with them ever since." Hope replied with a frown.

"If you two ladies will excuse me for a moment..." Elijah said after placing a kiss on the top of Hope's head and on Elena's cheek.

Hope leaned into Elena's side as the older woman took Elijah's spot on the arm rest and put her arm around the young tribrid's shoulders. The pair of them watched as Elijah made a beeline for Hayley, managed to untangle her from Jackson, and then led her over to Klaus, pulling him away from Caroline and the twins before the three of them disappeared. Hot tears pricked at Hope's eyes once more and she blinked them away as best as she could, but a few of them escaped, and she quickly swiped at her cheeks. The longer that it took for Elijah to talk to Klaus and Hayley, the harder it became for Hope to keep her tears at bay, and when she started to lightly shake with silent sobs, Elena scooted Hope over and slid into the chair next to her almost niece before pulling Hope into a hug and rubbing her back. Hope couldn't help but wrap her arms around Elena and bury her face into the older woman's neck to hide her tears, but Elena didn't seem to mind. She just let Hope cry and softly whispered words of comfort.

"What the bloody hell do you mean Hope's upset?"

Klaus' words rang through the house, causing the idle chatter from the rest of the family to come to an end.

"Just that, Niklaus. You have neglected your own daughter all evening. Both of you have. She feels alone and like her absence would go unnoticed if she were to leave the party." Elijah ground out.

"That's absurd Elijah. She's our daughter, of course we would notice if she left the party." Hayley said.

"Are you sure about that Hayley? Because if it weren't for Alaric, Hope wouldn't currently be sitting in the other room, completely miserable because her own parents haven't paid her any mind." Elijah argued.

"I've had my eye on her all night, Brother. She never left the room." Klaus scoffed.

"Have you Niklaus? How many members of the family have talked to Hope since everyone got here?" Elijah challenged.

"Why kind of question is that, Elijah?" Hayley asked.

"One that will either prove Hope's version of events correct, or Niklaus' version. Your answer, Brother. How many family members have talked to your daughter since everyone got here?" Elijah repeated.

"Everyone." Klaus replied.

"Not counting when everyone showed up and said hello. Once everyone in the family was here, and everyone greeted one another before breaking off into, for all in tense and purposes, small groups, who talked to Hope?" Elijah elaborated.

"I... I don't know." Klaus replied, his anger at Elijah's accusations deflating completely.

"If you had truly been keeping an eye on her all night, you would know the correct answer. What about you, Hayley. Do you know the answer?" Elijah asked.

"No, Elijah. I don't." Hayley responded with a sigh.

"3." Elijah replied.

"Come again?" Hayley inquired.

"3 members of the family have talked to Hope. Alaric, myself and Elena. And the only reason Alaric stopped Hope from leaving the party was because you apparently asked him for his blessing on something, Niklaus?" Elijah said. "Should you not have talked to your daughter first, before moving forward with a plan to ask Caroline to marry you?" He added.

"I had no intention of asking Caroline to marry me tonight. And even if I had, it being mentioned so openly would have ruined the surprise anyway." Klaus replied quickly.

"You two are parents. While it is essential that you both have lives outside of that, and not to let being parents define who you are as individual people, you cannot let your individual lives take precedence over being their for your daughter." Elijah said before he turned and left Klaus and Hayley standing there staring at each other.

Upon returning to the living room, Elijah made his way over to where Elena was still sitting, trying to calm Hope down and lifted his niece into his arms. He whispered something to Elena and then carried Hope out of the room and upstairs to her bedroom. While he had just reprimanded Klaus and Hayley for not paying attention to Hope throughout the night, everyone in the family was guilty of ignoring her, himself included. He hated that he had done that to her. Once he placed Hope onto her bed, he sat on the edge and pushed her hair behind her ear.

"Thank you, Uncle Elijah." Hope muttered glancing up at him through red-rimmed and puffy eyes.

"Please don't thank me, Hope. I am just as much to blame for you feeling this way as your parents are." Elijah replied.

"You and Elena and Alaric at least talked to me. Sure, it was only after I had already tried to leave the party, but the three of you actually noticed something was wrong and talked to me." Hope said insistently.

"Hope, I need to ask you a question, and I need you to be honest with me with your answer." Elijah said, causing Hope to sit up and pull her knees to her chest.

"What is it, Uncle Elijah?" Hope asked.

"Do you feel like your parents are replacing you?" Elijah questioned. "And furthermore, do you feel like all of us are replacing you?" He added.

"Mom, sort of. Dad, yes. The rest of you, no." Hope said with a sigh after thinking about it for a minute. "I love Jackson, Caroline and the twins, they're all part of the family. But saying they are part of the family, but seeing Mom and Dad interact solely with them tonight, it hurt." She explained. "I mean, it's usually just me, Dad and Caroline, or me, Mom and Jackson... and it's fine. But I think in the back of Mom and Dad's minds, they figured that with the rest of the family around, they didn't have to focus their attention on me." She finished, turning her head to rest her cheek on top of her knees.

"Would you be interested in coming to stay with me and Elena for a time?" Elijah asked.

"You mean, move to Mystic Falls for a little bit?" Hope inquired.

"Yes. At least for the rest of your Winter Break. And then, at the end of the break, we can see about transferring you to Mystic Falls High." Elijah offered.

"Wouldn't that be illegal? Since you and Elena aren't my legal guardians?" Hope asked.

"If your parents neglect you, Child Protective Services could be called in." Elijah replied darkly.

"No, Uncle Elijah, they don't normal ignore me." Hope said quickly. She didn't like the thought that crossed her mind at a CPS agent or officer, or whatever they were called, showing up to the houses of a Hybrid or a Werewolf, and being mauled.

"Elijah..." Elena said from the doorway.

"If you would like to come stay with us for the rest of your break, that's up to you." Elijah said with a sigh.

"Can we leave now?" Hope asked in a small voice.

"If that's what you want, Hope." Elena said moving to the far side of Hope's bed and sitting on the edge.

"It is. I know that it won't help things to run away when things get hard, but I just don't feel at home here right now." Hope said.

"Then yes, we can leave tonight. Pack a bag, and we'll go let the others know." Elena said while leaning over to place a kiss on Hope's forehead.

Before Hope could move off of her bed, or for Elijah and Elena to leave the room, the doorway was blocked by Klaus and Hayley. Both looked upset, but neither looked angry. Hope didn't dwell on either thought and moved to grab her suitcase from her closet.

"Where are you going Hope?" Hayley asked.

"To stay with Uncle Elijah and Aunt Elena for the rest of Winter Break." Hope replied, sparing her mother only a miniscule glance over her shoulder.

"You said that you could leave?" Klaus asked, and Hope spun around, anger flashing in her eyes.

"Why does it matter? You have Caroline and the twins." Hope spat out.

"I'm not replacing you with Josie and Lizzie, Hope." Klaus said.

"Really? Because tonight sure made it look like you were." Hope replied.

"Hope, we're sorry. We never meant to ignore you tonight." Hayley said, placing a hand on Klaus' upper on to stop whatever he was about to say.

"Sorry isn't going to fix this Mom. You're happy with Jackson, Dad's happy with Caroline. I'm the tribrid freak that will never fit in with either of your lives." Hope said, her voice catching in her throat as she fought back sobs.

"You are not a freak." Klaus said, his hands clenching into fists.

"I'm the only one of my kind, Dad. And I don't see you and Mom having any other kids so that there will be others who understand what I'm going through. You were able to make other Hybrids once upon a time so that you wouldn't be the only one like you in the world. I don't have that option. I have the healing of a vampire, but I don't have the compulsion, or the ability to turn others into vampires. And I'm not even sure if I were to want a family of my own down the line, if it would even be possible." Hope said.

"We could figure something out..." Hayley tried.

"There's nothing to figure out, Mom! I will always be the only tribrid in the world. But at least if I go to stay with Elijah and Elena for a couple weeks, I won't feel like an afterthought to my own parents." Hope snapped, turning into Elijah's chest as her uncle moved to pull her into a hug.

"I think the party if over, Niklaus. Elena and I will take Hope to Mystic Falls for a couple weeks so that she can see where her family comes from, and we will discuss living arrangements going forward at the end of her Winter Break." Elijah said.

"I won't allow it." Klaus said.

"It's not a matter of what you'll allow, Brother. If you force Hope to stay here when she's clearly miserable, then you will only be inflicting more psychological damage." Elijah said.

"Klaus, we've been thinking of our own happiness ahead of our daughter's for a lot longer than just tonight. We aren't doing her any favors keeping her locked away from kids her own age." Hayley said before turning to look at Elijah and Elena. "Take care of her."

"We will, Hayley." Elena said.


	2. That Introducation Could've Gone Better

Holidays Are for Family

Chapter 2: That Introduction Could Have Gone Better

Hope slept for most of the drive from New Orleans to Mystic Falls. She hadn't said goodbye to the rest of the family, and she was sure that there was going to be some hurt feelings because of that, but she didn't care. They had all hurt her first, so it only seemed to be fair, and that she was even with the rest of her family that she didn't say goodbye to them. And since the twins were staying with Caroline for Winter Break, Alaric caravanned back to Mystic Falls with Elijah, Elena and Hope. By the time that they all arrived, daylight was just breaking over the horizon, and Hope was ready for a fresh start to her holiday vacation. As her uncle pulled into the driveway of his and Elena's home, the family next door was piling into their own car. Parking the car, Elijah hopped out and walked over to the family.

"Seylah, may I help you with your bags?" Elijah asked as the woman seemed to struggle with lifting the baggage into the back seat.

"Oh, thank you Elijah. That would be wonderful." The woman, Seylah, replied with a grateful smile before turning to her two sons. "Ryan, Landon, what do you say to Elijah?"

"Thank you, Mister Elijah." The younger of the two boys said instantly as the older one glanced over and locked eyes with Hope.

"Who's she? I didn't think you and Miss Elena had any kids." The older boy asked, his eyes never leaving Hope's.

"That's because we don't, Ryan. That would be my niece, Hope. She'll be staying with Elena and I for the rest of her Winter Break." Elijah explained. "Seylah, if you and the boys aren't in a hurry, maybe the 6 of us could have breakfast together? We've been driving all night, but I'm sure I can get something edible made for us to eat." He offered after loading the rest of the luggage into Seylah's car and closing the back hatch.

"That would be lovely, Elijah. Are you sure Elena and your niece won't mind?" Seylah asked.

"Not at all, Seylah. It's the holidays, and we would love to have you and the boys over for breakfast." Elena said with a bright smile. "Wouldn't we, Hope."

"Yeah, sure. The more the merrier." Hope replied after she broke eye contact with the older boy who simply winked at her.

"Well then, proper introductions are required. Hope, this is Seylah Chelon, and her sons, Ryan, and Landon. Seylah, boys, this is my niece, Hope." Elijah said and Hope smiled and gave a small nod to each of them.

"It's nice to meet you, Hope. Your uncle and aunt speak very fondly of you." Seylah said with a warm smile.

"Given that I'm the only niece or nephew that'll ever happen for our family, I'd be surprised if they didn't." Hope replied.

"Hope Andrea, watch your tone." Elijah chided while Elena gave her a stern look before leading Seylah and the boys inside.

As Elijah and Seylah headed the group, Landon fell into step with Elena while Ryan hung back with Hope. They didn't say a word to each other, but Hope could feel Ryan's eyes on her. However, whenever she would turn to look at him, he would simply smirk at her, and Hope had the burning urge to slap that smirk right off his face. She might not have an activated werewolf or vampire side to her just yet, but she still had her magic coursing through her veins, and with a simple flick of the wrist, she could have Ryan regretting ever smirking at her to begin with. When they reached the front door, Ryan stepped in front of Hope and fully turned to face her.

"You're a tribrid, right?" Ryan asked.

"What's it to you?" Hope responded.

"I've overheard my step-mom talking to your uncle and aunt, about the magical baby born into your family. A supernatural being born with the potential to be all three species at once. Since then, I've been curious to know how natural enemies of each other can reside within the same being, let alone have the magic that created both of the species as a part of them as well." Ryan explained.

"Hate to disappoint you, but I haven't killed anyone yet, and I haven't died, so neither my werewolf nor vampire sides have been activated. I'm just a very powerful witch. Unless you are offering to be the poor soul that has to die for me to activate my werewolf curse." Hope said as she ducked under Ryan's arm.

"And I hate to disappoint _you_ , but even if you were to kill me, I would just come back. I'm immortal." Ryan replied.

"So, you're a vampire." Hope stated as she headed upstairs to put her bag in the spare room with Ryan right on her heels.

"Nope. Vampires are the only immortal beings in the supernatural world, Hope. I'll give you two more guesses as to what I am." Ryan said with a smirk that Hope found more endearing than the ones he kept shooting her outside.

"Well, werewolf is out, because they are slightly less immortal than vampires." Hope commented. "That was not a guess, it was an elimination." She added quickly when Ryan opened his mouth to say something.

"Fine, but no more freebies."

"I'll have to think about it. Look up what other kind of immortal beings are meant to be mere fiction."

"I look forward to seeing what you come up with."

Before she could stop him, or even realize what he was doing, Hope was rendered speechless and motionless as Ryan leaned in and placed a light kiss on her cheek. Then she blinked and she was alone in her room. Blinking a few more times, Hope took in the surroundings. From what she had been told, this was the same floorplan to the house that Elena had grown up in, and on the same property. And from the soft colors gracing the walls, and the bench seat beneath the window, Hope could only guess that this would have been Elena's room. And then the weird family connections that Hope had been trying so hard to ignore the night before at the party returned, and Hope couldn't help but think about just how different things would have been if Elena's mother hadn't given her up for adoption to Elena's father's brother, and if Elena had been raised by her mother and Alaric. Maybe he wouldn't have met Jo, and she wouldn't have gotten pregnant with Josie and Lizzie, and therefore, Caroline wouldn't have carried the twins to term after Jo had been so brutally murdered by her own twin brother.

And if that were the case, then there was a chance that Elena never would have even met Caroline, or even Bonnie. She probably wouldn't have met Elijah, or any of the rest of Hope's family, and maybe her father wouldn't have met Caroline. After all, it had been the fact that Elena lived here, in Mystic Falls, that Klaus had even showed up here in the first place, looking for the doppelgänger that his path had ever crossed Caroline's. And if Klaus hadn't of shown up here, he wouldn't have turned Tyler into a Hybrid using Elena's blood, and he wouldn't have met Hope's mom. Klaus and Hayley probably wouldn't have had a drunken one-night stand and Hope herself wouldn't have existed. That thought had Hope crying out and falling to her knees as tears flowed down her cheeks. Her vision was so blurred from the tears that she couldn't see who exactly came rushing into her room, but she knew the arms that lifted her from the floor and onto the bed belonged to her uncle.

Elijah tried to calm Hope down, but the only thing that his attempted words of comfort did were to make Hope cry even harder. Her existence seemed to hinge on the fact that Elena's mother hadn't wanted to raise her own daughter, and that hurt Hope more than she could articulate to her uncle in that moment. So, after a few minutes of failing to calm his niece down, Hope heard Elijah leave the room, only for his spot to be taken by Elena. And while Hope loved her, Elena's presence wasn't helping her any either. She didn't want to be told that everything would be okay, but in her state, she couldn't tell them what was bothering her, so they had no idea how to truly comfort her. It felt like a lifetime later before Hope felt Elena leave too. The tears had slowed, but she was still hurting, and she didn't trust her voice enough now to ask for her uncle and aunt to come back. So, Hope simply curled up on her side, her back to the door, and willed herself to fall back asleep. Before she drifted off, however, Hope felt someone sit down on the bed and pull her into them, not saying anything, but simply holding her as she drifted off into a restless sleep.

 **TVD/TO/Legacies – HAFF – TVD/TO/Legacies**

Elijah, Elena and Seylah sat in the kitchen in silence as Landon helped Elijah make breakfast. Ryan had offered to stay with Hope and shortly after he had done so, Elijah and Elena had both heard Hope's heartbeat slow down to a steady rhythm, and her breathing even out, indicating that she was asleep. How Ryan had managed to calm Hope down when neither of them had, no one could say, but they weren't going to focus on it. The last 12+ hours had been an emotional rollercoaster for Hope, and anything or anyone that could calm her down enough to have her get some sleep was okay with Elijah. He loved his niece with his whole heart, and he was still kicking himself for making her feel ignored and invisible the night before, so seeing her so upset with no way of making her feel better was hurting Elijah in ways that he couldn't describe.

Once breakfast was done, Elena asked if they should go get Ryan and Hope, but Seylah shook her head. From what she had seen, she knew the girl needed rest, and if her stepson's presence was enough to get her to fall asleep, then it was better if they weren't disturbed. Hearing his mother say that had Landon feeling jealous of his older brother. Ryan always seemed to get the girls. And the one girl that he himself took an instant liking to, Ryan had to swoop in and make an instant connection with her. And now Ryan was being allowed to sleep with Hope? How was that fair? Landon huffed out a breath of annoyance, but it went unacknowledged by the adults. As the four of them sat down to eat, Elijah and Elena kept an ear on what was happening upstairs.

 **TVD/TO/Legacies – HAFF – TVD/TO/Legacies**

When Hope started to stir awake a few hours later, she noticed two things before her eyes opened. The first was that she had been in such a deep sleep, despite it being seemingly restless, and had rolled over in her sleep without realizing it. The second was that she was using someone's chest as a pillow, and the steady rise and fall of said chest indicated that he, too, was asleep. Holding her breath, Hope slowly opened her eyes and looked up. The gasp that she let out at seeing that it was Ryan who she had fallen asleep on ended up being louder than she had anticipated, causing Ryan to sit up quickly and look around as if expecting an attack. Seeing nothing but Hope's confused expression had Ryan relaxing back onto the bed and wrapping an arm around Hope's shoulders.

"How are you feeling?" He asked as he rubbed her shoulder.

"Like I shouldn't exist." Hope replied bitterly, her body tensing up under his arm.

"And why do you think you shouldn't exist?" Ryan questioned.

"If Elena's mom hadn't given her up, a lot of things that led to my parents hooking up probably wouldn't have happened, and I wouldn't be here." Hope explained.

"I highly doubt that something as small as giving a child up for adoption wouldn't eliminate all possible scenarios that would lead to someone from another family all together being born." Ryan argued.

"If Elena's mom had kept her, and Elena had been raised by her and Alaric, then she probably wouldn't have lived in Mystic Falls. And my dad wouldn't have come here looking for the doppelgänger, and he wouldn't have met Caroline. And if Alaric and Elena's mom had stayed married, he wouldn't have met Jo, and her coven wouldn't have needed to transfer the twins to Caroline's womb, and… and…" Hope couldn't finish as a fresh wave of tears started and her body started shaking against Ryan's side.

Sitting up again, Ryan quickly pulled Hope into his lap and held her close. He wasn't great at giving words of reassuring, so he stayed quiet. Having watched and seen both Elijah and Elena fail earlier at using words to calm Hope down, Ryan figured just being held and letting her cry was what Hope really needed. And that was something he could do. He had been doing it for years with Seylah after she had first been expelled from his father, pregnant with Landon, and then after Landon was born, and it had worked well enough then, so Ryan saw no reason why it couldn't work now, even if it was someone new that he didn't really know, and who didn't really know him.

"What happened?"

Ryan looked up to the doorway to see Elijah looking at Hope frantically. Hope's reaction to her uncle being there was to turn her head away from the door and bury her face into the crook of Ryan's neck. Ryan just wrapped his arms around Hope's body a little tighter and gave Elijah an apologetic look. Hope might not know him very well, but she clearly felt safe enough in his arms, and that was enough for Ryan. And from the dejected look on Elijah's face that was quickly replaced by a grateful smile to the younger man, it seemed to be enough for the Original vampire as well. Once Elijah headed back downstairs, Ryan loosened his hold on Hope and leaned back to try and see her face.

"Do you not want your uncle to know what's wrong?" Ryan asked.

"I don't know. I'm sure he and Elena heard parts of what I said, since vampires can't turn off their enhanced hearing, but they probably didn't catch all of it. And I really don't know if I want them to know just yet. Elena has been through so much in her life, that I don't want her to feel responsible for how messed up my mind is making me feel." Hope replied.

"You've known them a lot longer than you've known me, why do you trust me so easily to know what's wrong, but not your own family?" Ryan questioned.

"I kinda, sort of had a meltdown last night at the family Christmas party, which is why I'm here for the rest of the Winter Break. I felt like my entire family, Elijah and Elena included for a bit, forgot that I existed. When I Elena and Elijah noticed something was wrong, they came over to talk to me, and when I told them how I felt, Elijah confronted my parents about it, and there was a big argument that ended with Elijah offering to have me coming to stay with him and Elena, and me accepting, so here I am." Hope explained.

"I'm sorry that happened to you, Hope. I know what it feels like to be ignored by family, and it's not fun." Ryan replied.

"You don't seem to have any issues with your family." Hope commented.

"You want the crash course on my life, Hope?" Ryan asked.

"If you're willing to share after I've used you as a pillow and started to spill my own family drama to you." Hope replied with a shrug.

With a tight lipped smile and a small nod, Ryan sat back against the pillows and settled Hope across his lap with his arm secured around her waist to keep her close. He explained who, or more accurately _what_ , his father was, and what he was capable of doing. He avoided saying exactly what he himself was, because he still wanted Hope to try and guess, if she could, but he told her everything else. How over the years his father came to see him as imperfect and a failure, until Seylah had eventually been pushed in by her former employers and Ryan's father took pity on her. His father, Malivore, ended up getting Seylah pregnant, and upon sending her out of the darkness, sent Ryan out as well to watch over Malivore's true progeny, Landon. He explained that while he loved his brother dearly, he also held a level of resentment towards Landon for getting the praise from their father, although Landon doesn't know who their father is.

As Hope sat there, listening intently to what Ryan was saying, she had a couple of guesses as to what kind of supernatural being he was, but she kept them to herself. She waited until he had seemingly come to the end of his life story before she tentatively wrapped her arms around his neck and... just held him tightly. No one deserved to be ignored or cast aside by their parent, just because of perceived defect. It was more horrifying than what her parents had been doing to her, but she could see how much alike their situations were to each other. After a few minutes of sitting there in silence holding each other, Hope felt a smile tug at the corner of her lips.

"Golem." She said with a wide smile.

"Seriously? How do you know about golems?" Ryan asked as he pulled back to look at her in shock.

"I've read fairy tales from a _long_ time ago. Some of them had mentions of creatures made of mud to look human. And you said that Ma... your father created you in his image, and that he was made of mud himself. I'm a smart girl, Ryan, and while you tried so hard to keep your species out of your story, you gave me all the pieces that I needed to figure it out."

"Fine, I'll give you that. What else do you know about them?"

"Hm, let's see... I know that I'm sitting in the lap of one. But that and how they're created are about it."

Ryan smiled at Hope as he brushed a strand of her hair behind her ear. Wiping a few stray tears away from her cheek with his thumb, Ryan slowly leaned in, and Hope's breath caught in her throat with a small gasp escaping her lips, but before either of them could close the distance, someone cleared their throat loudly at the door. Ryan tensed, and his jaw tightened. Hope buried her face in Ryan's shoulder to try and hide the blush that was creeping up her cheeks, but it ended up being a pointless action since Ryan let his hand drop away from her cheek and turned towards the door.

"What do you want, Landon?" Ryan asked.

"Mister Elijah and Miss Elena asked me to come get you and Hope. They said that she hasn't eaten anything since before last night, and that you should both come down for breakfast." Landon replied as his eyes flashed with anger for a brief moment at the position Hope and Ryan were in.

"We'll be down in a minute." Ryan said, waiting for his brother to leave, only for him to continue standing there. "Was there something else?"

"Yeah, I want a chance to talk to Hope. You've monopolized her." Landon said with a smile at Hope.

"What the hell did you just say!?" Ryan snapped.

"Ryan, hey, look at me!" Hope said quickly taking his face in between her hands and turning him to face her. "It's okay." She said as her eyes darted between his, trying to get him to calm down.

"He just referred to you as if you are a piece of property, Hope." Ryan growled as he glared at his brother.

"It was just a poor choice of words." Hope said. "Look at me, Ryan. Please, I need you to calm down before one of us does something we'll probably regret later on." She added, moving to block his view of Landon. "You should head back downstairs Landon; we'll be there shortly." Hope commented over her shoulder, her gaze never leaving Ryan.

Once she heard Landon let out a huff of annoyance and then stomp back downstairs, Hope let out a sigh of relief. She could feel the tension leave Ryan's body, but she didn't move back onto the bed until she felt him completely relax again. Now that she knew a bit more about him, she could see how much being Landon's "protector" strained Ryan. And while Landon was probably oblivious to it, how much Ryan detested the job that his father had given him. As Hope settled back into her previous position, she slowly ran her fingers through Ryan's hair and leaned her head against her arm, content with just being there with him and staring at him. When he looked up at her with a grateful smile, Hope leaned in and pressed her lips to his forehead.


	3. It's Time for Mistletoe and Holly

Holidays Are for Family

Chapter 3: It's Time for Mistletoe and Holly

By the time that Hope and Ryan made it downstairs, the others had finished eating, and Elena and Elijah had started bringing the boxes of Christmas decorations in from the garage. Ryan stayed close behind Hope as she led him to the kitchen so that they could get something to eat, but Hope didn't mind. Ryan was the first person in a very long time that she felt comfortable being herself with, and she had a feeling that he felt the same way about her. As they heated up their food in the microwave, Hope jumped up to sit on the counter and Ryan stepped between her legs. Hope lightly wrapped her arms and legs around Ryan and rested her head on his shoulder, simply enjoying his closeness and how he was soothingly rubbing his hand along her back.

Landon stood in the sitting room, helping Elena sort through which decorations went outside, and which stayed inside, but his attention was on his brother and Hope. His jealousy was growing by the second, but he knew that since Ryan already had his eyes on Hope, that he wouldn't give Landon a chance to get close to her. Hope was the first girl that really intrigued Landon, and he wanted to get to know her. He just didn't want to do that with Ryan hanging around. Besides, Ryan was way too old for Hope, despite his physical age. But Landon was the same age as Hope, so it made a lot more sense to him if he and Hope were to get together.

"Hope, once you and Ryan are done eating breakfast, we're going to head out to get a Christmas tree." Elena called from the sitting room, causing her niece to look up from Ryan's shoulder.

"Okay, Aunt Elena." Hope replied with a smile.

"Why do I have a feeling that you are the kind of girl that gets super into decorating for Christmas?" Ryan asked with a smirk as he lightly tickled her sides.

"You mean that you don't like decorating?" Hope asked as she leaned back and feigned hurt. "I'm sorry, but that is a deal breaker, Ryan." She said with the hint of a smirk herself.

"Really? Because I love decorating for the holidays." Landon said quickly.

"No, Landon, not really." Hope replied with a weird look.

"Ignore him." Ryan whispered into Hope's ear before pressing a kiss to her neck just below it.

"Are you giving me something to ignore him with?" Hope asked in response as the microwave dinged and she turned to get their food out.

"I can think of a lot of things that I can do so that you would be able to ignore him." Ryan said as he took the plates from Hope and gave her a wink.

After giving him a quick kiss on the cheek, Hope jumped down from the counter and followed Ryan to the table. As she was about to sit down next to him, Ryan pulled her onto his lap, causing a grin to break out on Hope's face. Elijah watched from the living room and couldn't help the sad smile that tugged at his own lips. With everything that Hope had been subjected to in her young life, he wasn't sure if he had ever seen such a worry-free smile grace his niece's face before now, and it pained him to think about that. Moving towards the kitchen table, Elijah contemplated how he wanted to phrase the question he needed to ask Hope. He didn't want her to shut down again like she had done twice already that morning, but he also knew that it wouldn't do her, or himself, any good if it was left unsaid.

"How are you feeling, Hope?" Elijah asked, choosing to start with an easier question than jumping straight into the deep end.

"Better." Hope replied softly, tensing a little as she could only guess where her uncle's line of questioning was leading towards.

"Do you mind filling me in on what happened this morning? I can't help you if you don't talk to me." Elijah said. "We brought you here so that you could breathe more and not feel like you were being ignored, or an afterthought, but you almost immediately broke down." He continued.

"Uncle Elijah..." Hope trailed off, her eyes darting to Elena. "Please, I'm not ready to talk about it with you."

"Elijah, I'm sure that once Hope is ready to talk to you about what happened, she will. In the meantime, be content that she isn't bottling it up inside." Elena said as she placed a hand on her fiancé's shoulder, eyeing Elena and Ryan.

Elijah rested his hand on top of Elena's and sighed before nodding his head. If Hope had been bottling it up, there would have already been signs of it gnawing at her from the inside. And with their family history, a lot of damage would inevitably be on the near horizon if she had been bottling her feelings up. Locking eyes with Ryan, Elijah gave him a short nod, and Ryan tightened his hold around Hope. Once the focus was off of her, Hope picked up her fork and stabbed her food with it before lifting it up and offering the bite to Ryan. When he simply eyed her with an amused look and a raised eyebrow, Hope just shrugged and Ryan opened his mouth to appease her. As this went on, back and forth with Hope and Ryan feeding each other, Landon sat on the couch in the sitting room, his arms folded across his chest, frowning at the two of them. They hadn't even known each other for more than a few hours, and they were already acting like the popular couples did in high school. It made Landon sick. He desperately wanted to do something that would get the two apart so that he would have a chance to talk to Hope.

 **TVD/TO/Legacies – HAFF – TVD/TO/Legacies**

As the rest of the day went on, Ryan never left Hope's side long enough for Landon to get close to her. When their families went to the Christmas tree lot, Ryan offered his hand to Hope to help her step out of the car so that she wouldn't slip on the ice, and then never let her hand go. While the adults all thought it was adorable, Landon hated it. All he could continue thinking was that they had just met that morning, they shouldn't be acting like a couple already. His above simmering jealousy had Landon rationalizing that it would be okay if he and Hope were to act like a couple after just meeting, but that it wasn't okay that it was Hope and Ryan that were acting like a couple. On the rare moment that Ryan and Hope weren't together, Landon approached Ryan with a deep frown.

"What gives?" Landon asked.

"You'll have to elaborate, little brother." Ryan replied with a roll of his eyes. "There's a lot that could fall under 'what gives'." He added as he gave the cashier a brief smile as she handed him the two hot chocolates that he had ordered.

"We just met Hope this morning. Not even a full day, or even half a day, yet you're already acting like a couple. That's what I want to know." Landon said.

"There are things that Hope and I have in common that allow us to just fit together. Things that you just wouldn't understand. We've had similar experiences in our lives, things that you haven't had to worry about since you get everything else that you want." Ryan explained as he started making his way back towards Hope and the others.

"How could you possibly know that she and I wouldn't have things in common that would make us a better fit?" Landon asked, hurrying to keep up with his brother's longer strides.

"Landon, there's things that Mom hasn't explained to you yet. And even if she does end up explaining them to you, you and Hope wouldn't work. Believe me, it's for your own good that you don't try and start a relationship with Hope." Ryan snapped.

"This is about our father isn't it? How he plans on making himself known to me? I'm not a little kid, I can handle the truth." Landon insisted.

"No, Landon, you really can't." Ryan said as the two came to a stop in front of Hope. "Here you go, sweetheart." He said handing her one of the drinks.

"Thank you." Hope said as she wrapped both hands around the cup and leaned into Ryan's side while he wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

"Seriously? 'Sweetheart'? Isn't that premature?" Landon questioned.

"What is your problem Landon?" Hope snapped, drawing the attention of some of the other locals around them.

"Hope, that's quite enough." Elijah commented as he rounded a tree and gave his niece a sharp look.

"I didn't start this!" Hope protested.

"I know that you didn't, but you aren't going to continue it either." Elijah said sternly.

Hope let out a frustrated huff before Ryan placed a kiss to the top of her head and led her away from his brother. As they walked away, Landon glared at them and made a motion to follow them, but after catching the warning stare from his mother, stayed where he was while letting his shoulders deflate. Once they were out of eyesight, Ryan looked down at Hope and pressed a kiss to her temple. He could feel her shaking against him, and despite the low temperature, he knew it wasn't because she was cold. Leading her to the car, Ryan climbed into the back seat and pulled Hope into his lap.

"I really want to know what your brother's problem is." Hope muttered as she leaned against Ryan and rested her head on his shoulder.

"He's jealous. Jealous that I have a pretty girl that wants me around and won't pay him any mind." Ryan replied. "A pretty girl that I would very much like to kiss right now before we're interrupted again." He added in a whisper.

"Then what are you waiting for?" Hope breathed out.

"The pretty girl's permission to kiss her."

Hope nodded against Ryan's shoulder and he used his pointer finger to lift her chin up. As they moved in closer, Hope shifted in Ryan's lap to straddle him and wrapped her arms around his neck. Wrapping one arm around her waist to pull her flush against his body, and entangling his fingers in her hair, Ryan pressed his lips to Hope's in a tentative kiss that quickly deepened. Their hot chocolates sat forgotten in the cupholders as Ryan repositioned them so that he was hovering over Hope as she lay on the seat. Breaking the kiss for a brief moment, Ryan glanced up to make sure no one was around the car that could be watching them, and once he was satisfied that they were in the clear, leaned down again and captured Hope's lips in another kiss. When the second kiss broke due to the need for air, Ryan moved his lips along Hope's jaw and to her neck as Hope ran her fingers through his hair.

"Ryan..." Hope breathed out.

"Did I do something wrong?" Ryan asked as he pulled back.

"Absolutely not. That was the best first and second kiss a girl could ask for, but we are still, technically, in public, and my uncle and aunt, or your stepmom or brother could come back to the car any minute, and I don't want them to intrude." Hope explained.

Ryan let out a sigh as he rested his head against Hope's shoulder before nodding his agreement and sitting up, pulling Hope back into his lap. Once they were no longer in a compromising position, Ryan reached behind the seat and pulled out a fleece blanket which he draped over his and Hope's bodies before wrapping his arms around Hope's waist and tucking her head under his chin. Snuggling in as close as she could get to Ryan under the blanket, Hope intertwined their fingers together before closing her eyes. And with her head tucked under his chin, her head was against his chest, and the steady beat of his heart lulled her to sleep in moments.

When the others got back to the car, and found the two both sound asleep, Elena insisted that it was best if they be allowed to sleep, so as quietly as they could, they strapped the tree to the top of the car and headed home. Seylah silently watched her stepson and the young tribrid out of the corner of her eye while Elijah kept eyeing them in the rearview mirror. Neither had seen the either of the two so completely comfortable with another person, and while they were happy that Ryan and Hope now had each other, both Seylah and Elijah silently feared that they were already in too deep with each other. While greatly misplaced, Landon's concerns about them already acting like a couple after knowing each other for only a few hours were true concerns that the adults had as well. But as much as Elijah wanted to protect his niece's heart from being hurt yet again, especially by someone who was 1000 years older than her, he knew trying to stop Hope from being with Ryan, if that's what she wanted, would make him, and Klaus, and Kol, and Freya, all hypocrites. The only Mikaelson siblings that hadn't fallen for someone 1000 years younger than them were Finn and Rebekah. And being a man that strived to live with honor, Elijah wouldn't place himself in a situation where he could be seen as a hypocrite.

 **TVD/TO/Legacies – HAFF – TVD/TO/Legacies**

When the car came to a stop in the driveway, Hope was startled awake. She wasn't sure what it was, since the car hadn't jerked to a stop, but something had caused her to wake up suddenly. She met her aunt's eyes for a brief moment, catching a glimpse of understanding (although understanding what, Hope wasn't sure), before she broke Elena's gaze and curled up slowly against Ryan. But instead of closing her eyes again, Hope kept glancing around, as if waiting for someone or something to attack. Ryan was no better off. When Hope had jumped at being awaken so suddenly, Ryan's body responded in kind and he went on the defensive. His hold tightened protectively around Hope and his eyes darted around the car. He was simply met by 3 concerned gazes and a glare, but no danger. Pressing a kiss to Hope's temple he whispered that everything was okay, and it seemed to calm Hope down at least a little bit, but not completely.

As everyone piled out of the car, Elijah came around to the side and helped Hope out before indicating for her to head instead with Elena. He waited until Hope, Elena, Seylah and Landon were inside before he turned to Ryan who was uncharacteristically anxious. Instead of saying anything, Elijah simply started untying the tree, and Ryan took the silence as he was meant to assist. It was only once they had gotten the tree off of the top of the car and were walking to the front door that Elijah spoke.

"What does your father want with my niece?" Elijah asked over his shoulder.

"As far as I know, nothing. Although given that he was created by a vampire, a witch and a werewolf, Hope would have the potential to destroy my father." Ryan replied.

"What would have to happen for her to do that?" Elijah questioned.

"She would have to active her werewolf and vampire sides. Neither of which I am keen on her doing."

"Nor am I. But with my family's history, it is almost inevitable that she will at least activate her curse. We already have too many enemies to list, I do not want her to have any of her own."

"I agree with you on all accounts, sir."

"So even after knowing her for as short of a time as you have, you feel the need to protect her."

It was a statement, but Ryan hummed in agreement. He was willing to protect Hope from any threat that came against her, and if that threat ended up including his own father, than he would happily defy Malivore once more, just to keep Hope safe. As the two immortals finished carrying the tree inside, Elijah thought about Ryan's willingness to protect Hope. The only other people who had ever done that had been members of his own family, and the Crescent pack. Hope already had a multitude of protectors, but Elijah had never seen a single one of them able to put Hope at ease when she was frightened, not even Klaus or Hayley. Ryan had. And for that fact alone, Elijah was willing to accept the golem as family.

When the tree was placed in it's stand, Hope started jumping up and down while clutching Ryan's arm. He couldn't help the smile that tugged at his lips at seeing Hope's face filled with glee. From what he had learned about her so far, this wasn't a common occurrence. But before he could comment on it, Hope was being pulled away by Elena, and Ryan was tasked, along with Landon, to help Elijah finish bringing in the boxes of decorations.

"Hope, why don't you place some mistletoe throughout the house?" Elena suggested, and Hope saw the twinkle in her aunt's eye as she made the suggestion.

"Really, Elena, must you be so obvious?" Seylah asked with a teasing smile.

"I'm sorry, I've just never been able to catch Elijah under the mistletoe before. I want to ensure that we get caught under it at least once this year. So I'm thinking one in every doorway." Elena said with a smirk and Hope rolled her eyes before taking the plant from the box and grabbing a chair from the kitchen table.

"Why do you have so many of these things, Aunt Elena? Isn't it a tad excessive?" Hope asked after she had hung a bunch of mistletoe in each of the downstairs doorways, and still had some left over.

"Like I said, I want to catch your uncle under the mistletoe this year." Elena replied with a shrug.

"Um, gross. But I guess that's a bit better than it being Mom or Dad." Hope commented.

"And who knows, maybe you and my stepson will get caught under one as well." Seylah commented off-handedly, causing Hope to lose her balance as she quickly glanced up at the older woman.

"Careful, Hope, if I didn't know any better, I'd say you did that on purpose."

Hope hadn't realized that in losing her balance she had actually started to fall off the chair until Ryan was gently placing her feet on the ground. And even after she was standing upright, Hope couldn't look away from Ryan's face. He was smirking at her again, and his eyes held a mischievous twinkle that drew her in. Or maybe it was the fact that his hands were still on her waist and he had pulled her body as flush against his as he could with her still holding stuff in her hands. Hope really didn't know. And after Ryan glanced up, which Hope hated, because it meant his gaze wasn't on her, Hope blushed when she realized that they were, in fact, standing under mistletoe. And with her aunt and his stepmom pretending not to watch them from the living room, Hope stood on her tiptoes to press her lips to Ryan's in a slow kiss.


	4. All's Fair in Love and Snowball Wars

Holidays Are for Family

Chapter 4: All's Fair in Love and Snowball Wars

Hope dropped the remaining bunches of mistletoe and wrapped her arms around Ryan's neck as he backed her against the doorframe. The foot difference in their heights had Ryan ducking his head down, even with Hope on her toes, but he didn't care. Hope was worth having a little bit of pain in his neck. The difference was still too much for Hope, though. Even with being pinned between the doorframe and Ryan's body, Hope couldn't stay on her toes forever. And she could feel the strain in Ryan's neck as he bent down to meet her lips, and knowing he was in pain because of her did not sit well in Hope's stomach. Breaking the kiss, but leaving very little space between their lips, Hope glanced up at Ryan and smiled. Taking one of Ryan's hands in hers, Hope moved to pick up the discarded bundles and led Ryan upstairs.

Elena and Seylah watched the two disappear into Hope's room and shook their heads, each woman wearing a smile as Elijah and Landon came in from the living room. When Elijah opened his mouth to ask where Hope and Ryan had disappeared to, Elena silenced him with her eyes darting upstairs. Landon, however, caught Elena's eye movement as well and dropped himself onto one of the armchairs, pouting that once again, Ryan had Hope all to himself in Hope's room. His overactive, teenage hormone-idled brain came up with a handful of different scenarios as to what his brother and Hope were doing up there, hating each idea more than the previous one.

 **TVD/TO/Legacies – HAFF – TVD/TO/Legacies**

"Really, Hope, above your bed? Aren't you concerned about getting bits of it in your hair as you sleep?" Ryan asked as he watched Hope pin a bundle of mistletoe above her headboard.

"Why are you complaining. This just means that it'll be mandatory that you kiss me whenever you're on my bed with me." Hope replied as she sat up on her knees and draped her arms around Ryan's neck.

"I don't need mistletoe to be willing to do that, Hope." Ryan commented as he leaned in and nipped at Hope's neck.

"Call it insurance." Hope murmured as she tilted her head to the side to give Ryan more access to her neck.

"Hope, sweetheart, if you think you need this much insurance for me to kiss you, then I want to know what guy made you feel like you weren't important enough to kiss any chance he got, no matter where you were." Ryan said with a frown as he pulled away to look into Hope's eyes.

"It's- it's not like that, Ryan..." Hope trailed off with a frown of her own. "Please don't be upset."

"I care about you, Hope. I don't care if we've only known each other for close to half a day, I care about you. Just tell me why you think you need this much insurance for me to want to kiss you, and I'll drop this conversation." Ryan said as he brushed Hope's hair out of her face before holding her gaze.

"I grew up guarded away from everyone and everything. My parents never let me have many friends, and there weren't many younger wolves in my mom's pack, so I couldn't hang out with them, and the French Quarter witches feared the power that I possessed." Hope explained in a small voice as she withdrew herself from Ryan's embrace, leaning back against the pillows while wrapping her arms around herself.

"You're afraid that I won't want to be with you?" Ryan asked in a small voice as he sat in the middle of the bed and lightly pulled Hope to him by her ankles.

"You're the first guy, that isn't family, that has been allowed to be in my room alone with me." Hope whispered.

"Look at me Hope..." Ryan started as he lifted Hope's chin. "Just because were overbearingly protective doesn't negate how I feel about you. I didn't think you had been with a multitude of guys before me. And even if you had, that's all in the past. If you let me, I would like to be your present and future." He added. "And for the record, I like you just the way you are." He finished before holding the back of Hope's head and capturing her lips in a kiss.

Hope scooted fully into Ryan's lap while actually wrapping her legs around his waist, and ran her hands through his hair, deepening the kiss as she pulled him down on top of her. As Ryan moved the hand that was behind Hope's head to the mattress to support his weight above her, his other hand ran over her outer thigh, as her legs wrapped tighter around his waist, before coming to a stop at her hip and gripping it lightly. Breaking the kiss for air, Ryan moved his lips to Hope's neck and bit down. Hope let out a soft whimper and pressed her body up against Ryan's. Hooking her feet together, Hope used all the strength that she had to roll them over and straddled Ryan's lap. Resting her hands on his chest, Hope shifted her weight above Ryan and he shifted up against the pillows.

"As much as I enjoy the sight of you above me, and greatly look forward to the day when we can take our make out sessions to the next level, maybe going any further today isn't a good idea." Ryan said before pulling Hope down so she was laying against his side with her head on his chest.

"This isn't about my inexperience, is it?" Hope asked as she traced random shapes on Ryan's chest with her finger.

"Absolutely not, sweetheart. It's strictly about the timing. I don't want to take advantage of you in anyway, and you've been on an emotional rollercoaster ever since last night, and we just met this morning." Ryan responded as he ran his fingers through her hair.

"Ryan..." Hope said slowly.

"Yes, Hope?"

"Why was your stepmom loading up your car this morning?"

"We were going to bring some of our old things to the church's donation bin. And then we were going to finish Christmas shopping."

"Is there anyone you still need to get presents for?"

"Just 1."

"What an incredible coincidence. I have just 1 person left to get a present for too."

"How about we head into town tomorrow to get those last two gifts? Just the two of us. It'll give us more of a chance to get to know each other without our families around."

"You mean like a date?"

Before Ryan could respond to Hope's question, there was a soft knock on the door and Elena stuck her head into the room. Ryan made to sit up and move away from Hope, but Hope stopped him from moving by draping her arm across his waist.

"May I come in?" Elena asked.

"Of course, Aunt Elena. We were just talking." Hope replied as Elena slipped into the room and sat on the cedar chest that was situated at the end of the bed.

"I know you don't want to tell Elijah the reason you broke down this morning, but are you able to tell me? I just want to help you feel safe here, Hope, and if you don't feel safe, then we can figure out a way for you to feel safe." Elena said softly.

"Aunt Elena..." Hope started.

"I get it, Hope, you aren't ready to talk." Elena said as she went to leave.

"Aunt Elena, wait!" Hope said quickly as she sat up. "I want to tell you. I want to tell Uncle Elijah too... but I don't want to make you feel bad after everything that you've been through in your life." She explained as she shifted onto her knees.

"Listen to me, Hope. Nothing you could say could make me feel bad. Especially after what went down at the party last night. You can always tell your Uncle and I anything." Elena said.

"Could you... could you get him?" Hope asked while biting her lower lip.

"Of course. I'll be right back." Elena said with a nod. "Oh, and you might want to straighten your clothes. Elijah might not be against you being in Hope's room, Ryan, but he definitely wouldn't be pleased to see the result of how heavily you two were 'talking'." She added with a wink before slipping out into the hallway.

Hope turned to Ryan with wide eyes and he nearly jumped off of the bed to step into the Jack-and-Jill bathroom. By the time Elena and Elijah came back into the room, Ryan and Hope's clothes were straightened, and Ryan was sitting against the pillows with Hope curled into his side. When Elijah walked around to the side of the bed that Hope was on, she moved out from under Ryan's arm and gave her uncle a huge hug. She muttered something that Ryan didn't catch, but when Elijah pulled away from the hug and pulled Elena down into his lap, Ryan assumed that Hope had apologized for pushing Elijah away all day, or at least something along those lines.

"Where are Seylah and Landon?" Ryan asked as he wrapped his arm around Hope's shoulders.

"They went to take the donations to the church, and will be going Christmas shopping afterwards, as had been the plan for today." Elijah explained before turning to Hope. "It's just us, Sweetheart."

"Aunt Elena, this house, it was built to the same specifications as the house you grew up in, right?" Hope asked. "And it's the same plot of land as where your childhood home was?" She added.

"Yes, it is, to both of your questions." Elena replied with a nod.

"Because of those two facts, I went down a mental spiral. Starting with your mother giving you up for adoption and ending with me not existing." Hope said, choosing her words carefully.

"Tell them everything, Hope. They deserve to know what fully caused you to break down." Ryan prompted softly.

"Okay. So if your mother hadn't given you up for adoption, chances are you would have grown up with her and Alaric, and you probably wouldn't have lived here in Mystic Falls. If Alaric stayed married to your mother, then he probably wouldn't have met Jo, they wouldn't have gotten pregnant, and her coven wouldn't have had to transfer the twins to Caroline's womb when Jo's twin killed her. If you didn't grow up in Mystic Falls, my father wouldn't have come to here looking for the latest doppelgänger, and therefore he wouldn't have met Caroline. He wouldn't have used your blood to turn Tyler into a hybrid, and in turn wouldn't have met my mom. They wouldn't have had their one night stand, resulting in me... and if I never existed, Henry would still be alive." Hope explained her voice breaking over the last 10 words.

By the time that she was done explaining her breakdown, Hope was shaking and tears were streaming down her cheeks once again. Turning her head to bury her face in Ryan's neck, Hope missed the look that Elena and Elijah shared. Ryan sat there silently rubbing Hope's back, his eyes darting between the two vampires as they held a silent conversation. He couldn't determine what their conversation was about, but really, Ryan didn't care unless it involved Hope needing to go somewhere else. He didn't want to lose her before they truly got a chance to see what this relationship could be.

"Hope, my mother's choice to give me up for adoption led me to being the woman that I am today. And if it weren't for that choice, I wouldn't have your Uncle as the love of my life, or you as my niece. While I hated finding out about my birth parents when I did, I wouldn't change how my life turned out for anything. And I do not want you thinking that if she hadn't given me up that you wouldn't exist. The universe requires balance, and from what Seylah and Ryan have told us about Malivore, you matter a great deal more than you know right now. You were born because the world needs you in it." Elena explained.

"What does Malivore have to do with me?" Hope asked, looking up at Ryan.

"He was created by a witch, a vampire and a werewolf. Those three beings were meant to be the only ones that could destroy him, but because I betrayed him, they weren't able to do what they planned to do. You, being a supernatural being of all three species, have the potential to kill him once and for all." Ryan replied with a sigh.

"What would I have to do to be able to destroy him?" Hope asked.

"You would have to activate your curse, and you would have to die. You would have to be a full fledged tribrid, Hope." Elijah responded.

"No." Hope said as she started shaking her head. "No, there has to be another way. Someone else who can do it."

"The only other option that we would have would be to find a direct descendant of each other the original beings that created him. But that's where things get tricky. If the vampire had children before he became a vampire, then it would be a toss up between using an actual blood descendant or trying to trace his sire line." Ryan said with a frown. "And we would have to get it right on the first try, because there's no tell when we would get another chance."

"Where is he?"

"Hope..."

"No, I want to know... where is Malivore?"

Ryan locked eyes with Elijah and Elena, silently asking them what he should do. He didn't want Hope running headfirst into this. But he was also very adamant about not losing her.

"He's currently a pit in a hidden facility in Georgia. But Hope, you need to understand, the facility that's guarding him, Seylah and I have been on the run from them since Landon was born. We have done everything that we could over the last 15 years to stay off their radar. I cannot, and will not, allow you to put yourself in danger by seeking them out to find alternative waves to destroy my father. I can't lose you, Hope." Ryan said, his eyes pleading with her to not seek out his father's location.

"Ryan, I'm not asking where he is so that I can try and destroy him. I'm asking so that I know where I need to avoid." Hope said as she took Ryan's face in her hands and gave him a soft kiss. "I'm not going anywhere." She whispered against his lips.

Before anyone could say anything else, Elijah's phone ringing in his pocket startled Hope and she jumped back from Ryan's embrace. She was just about to settle back against his side when her uncle handed her his phone, without having answered it. Giving him a confused look, Hope took the device and looked at the caller ID before her face paled.

"Dad?"

"Where's your uncle?" Klaus asked sternly.

"He's sitting right here with me." Hope replied, locking eyes with her uncle.

"Why did no one call me to tell me if you made it back to Mystic Falls?" Klaus inquired, and Hope could tell that her father was pacing.

"It's been a hectic day, Dad. We've spent it decorating that house and spending the day with Elijah and Elena's neighbors. I'm sorry we didn't call." Hope said as she took Ryan's hand in hers, lacing their fingers together, causing Elena to snicker and Elijah to hide his smile in his fiancée's neck.

"Why is Elena laughing?"

"Just something Uncle Elijah whispered to her. I'm sure I don't want to know what he said. And you probably don't want to know either."

With a wave of her hand, Hope shooed her uncle and aunt out of the room. Getting off of the bed, she followed them to the door and closed it behind them before reclaiming her place at Ryan's side on the bed.

"How are you feeling, baby girl? Any better?" Hayley asked.

"You and Dad are in the same room? At the same time?" Hope hit back.

"We both wanted to make sure you were okay. But Jackson and Caroline are here as well." Hayley replied.

"Oh, um, yeah, I'm doing better. Elijah and Elena's neighbor's stepson has been keeping me company today, and it's been helping." Hope said, picking and choosing her words before she said each one.

"Do they know who you are?" Klaus asked.

"Yes Dad, they know. Ryan also happens to be a supernatural being."

"What do they want with you?"

"Dad, not everyone that comes into my life wants something from me. Is it so hard to believe that someone wants to be in my life because they like who I am as a girl? Not that I'm the mythical tribrid freakshow?"

"Hope..."

"No, Dad, I'm sick and tired of your paranoia controlling every aspect of my life. You kept me locked away from the rest of the world my entire life. And then you moved on to your new family. Well guess what, I'm moving on with my new family." Hope snapped before hanging up and tossing the phone across the room.

Hot tears were already streaming down her cheeks before Hope and fully turned into Ryan's chest. Ryan shifted them so that Hope was fully laying on her back and leaned over her, continuously wiping her tears away with his thumb as he rubbed her cheek. He wished deeply that he could take her hurt and pain away, but he knew that he couldn't. It wouldn't do Hope any good. So instead he simply laid on his side, hovering over the girl that he was quickly falling for, wiping her tears away and pressing kisses to her forehead. When her tears finally subsided, Ryan scooped Hope up into his arms and carried her to the bathroom before sitting her down on the edge of the bathtub. Placing a kiss on the top of her head, Ryan headed back into the bedroom and went over to the closet, rummaging through the short supply of winter clothes to find something else for Hope to wear. He wanted to take her out to get her mind off of her conversation with her father, but there was nothing suitable for the current weather.

"Ryan." Hope stood in the doorway of the bathroom, looking every bit of the vulnerable 15 year old girl that she was, picking at the hem of her shirt. "Can we do something that'll get my mind off of that conversation?" She asked.

"That's what I was thinking, sweetheart. But none of these clothes are suitable for what I had in mind. Maybe Seylah or Elena will have something that could work." Ryan sighed as he leaned against the doorframe and stared at her.

"What did you have in mind?"

 **TVD/TO/Legacies – HAFF – TVD/TO/Legacies**

The snowball fight that ended up ensuing in Elijah and Elena's backyard was not what Hope had thought Ryan had meant. But it was fun, and it was working. Elena had quickly joined in, siding with Hope so that it was two on one. When Elijah came out to watch, he was hit with 2 snowballs, and 2 matching wide eyed looks from Elena and Hope, begging him to join. Evening the odds, he joined Ryan, and it became an all out snowball war. An unknown amount of time later, Seylah and Landon returned from shopping, and joined in on the fun, making it even more of girls versus guys. But the fun soon came to a quick end when Landon threw a snowball at Hope, causing her to stumble... falling right into Ryan's arms.

"Twice in one day. And here I thought I was the clumsy one." Ryan said with a smirk.


	5. Where Life Began

Holidays Are for Family

Chapter 5: Where Life Began

"Seriously!?"

The yell caused everyone to look towards Landon who was glaring daggers at Ryan. It had all but become his permanent expression for the day, and it had Ryan rolling his eyes as he set Hope on her feet before facing his brother and folding his arms across his chest. He stood just slightly in front of Hope, far enough away that he wasn't touching her, but close enough that if he started to truly lose his temper with Landon, he was within reach of Hope to be able to calm him down.

"What is it now, Landon?" Ryan asked.

"You are permanently by her side now." Landon stated.

"And there's a problem with that? Because I'm sure if Hope had a problem with me being around, she wouldn't be afraid to say something. And she hasn't. And neither have her aunt and uncle. You seem to be the only one that has an issue with mine and Hope's relationship." Ryan replied.

"Because there shouldn't be a relationship at this point. And you are making it impossible for anyone else to get to know her." Landon argued.

"You mean for you to get to know her. If you just manned up and asked her if you could talk to her, instead of acting like a petulant child all day, she might be more willing to talk to you. But by all means, little brother, continue to make me out to be the bad guy. See where it gets you in Hope's eyes." Ryan said before walking towards the side gate to head next door.

Hope glared at Landon before hurrying after Ryan. He had spent the entire day making sure she was okay, and now it was her turn to return the favor. Upon catching up to him, Hope grabbed Ryan's arm and pulled him to a stop before stepping in front of him and wrapping her arms around his waist. It took a moment's hesitation before Ryan wrapped his arms around Hope as well and rested his cheek on top of her head. Hope didn't know how long they stood there, simply holding each other, but it was the best embrace she had felt in a long time, and she didn't notice the cold wind as it hit the exposed part of her skin.

"Hope." Ryan said her name as a sigh, and it had her recoiling away from him.

"Don't push me away, Ryan." Hope responded in a small voice.

"I wasn't going to. I don't plan on leaving you, Hope. Not unless my leaving would better protect you than me being around." Ryan said as he took Hope's face in his hands and kissed her forehead.

"Then why did you say my name like that?" Hope asked.

"I was going to apologize for Landon's behavior."

"He's the one who should be apologizing, not you. Especially not on his behalf. He's been a jerk all day, simply because you talked to me first. He could have just as easily stayed back this morning to talk to me, but he didn't. He fell into step with Elena. It's not like you knew I was coming back with uncle and aunt. You didn't plan to spend the day by my side. You didn't know that I would have a panic attack and would only be able to relax with you around. He's acting like you planned to stab him in the back by falling for the girl he likes; like he had a claim on me first, but he only just met me today too." Hope said, slowly getting more agitated the more she ranted.

"Hope, sweetheart, you need to calm down." Ryan commented as he rubbed Hope's arms.

"He's infuriating." Hope let out a huff as she turned her head and leaned into Ryan's chest.

"What can I do to get him off your mind?"

Hope thought about Ryan's question for a few minutes, finally feeling the cold, and wrapped her arms around her body. Ryan seemed to sense her cold, and a shiver ran down his spine as he pulled her close. Leaning back from him just slightly, Hope muttered a spell under her breath and heat radiated through her body and into Ryan's body wherever their bodies were touching. Taking his hand in hers, she turned away from the backyard and started walking. It was only after about 20 minutes or so of walking in silence that Ryan realized that they weren't heading towards town, but towards the outskirts of Mystic Falls.

"Hope, where are we going?" Ryan asked.

"I overheard my uncle and aunt talking a while back, about a mansion that my dad had here years ago. I wanna find it. It's... it's where I was conceived." Hope admitted, a blush rising on her cheeks that had nothing to do with the cold.

"Do you... do you know which room?" Ryan inquired awkwardly.

"No... I've never been there and have only heard about the mansion when I shouldn't have." Hope replied with a shrug.

"So... how are we going to find this mansion? You said that you were conceived there, so that was 16 ½ almost 17 years ago, right? It's not there will be much of a trace of your family there today."

"I have a feeling that Elijah and Elena probably have made sure that it's maintenance is kept up on. I doubt that it wasn't just because of Elena growing up in Mystic Falls that they decided to live here."

"You're hoping that we'll find a trail left by one or both of them?"

"I'm mostly just winging it right now. And it gave us a chance to be alone. Plus the exercise is nice, even if it's freezing out here."

"You cast a warming spell earlier, didn't you? Isn't that still working?"

"You tell me."

Turning towards Ryan, Hope ran a hand up his chest and around his neck before pulling him down for a kiss. The trail her hand took left a trail of heat along Ryan's body, and when their lips met, the heat spread out from the contact. After stumbling a bit at the intensity of it, Ryan lifted Hope into his arms and walked blindly, but carefully towards the nearest tree. After securing Hope between the tree trunk and his body, Ryan braced himself with one hand and gripped her hip. The heat between them intensified the longer they were connected, and soon enough, the snow around them started to melt. But it was when Hope moved her lips along his jaw and her hands starting tugging lightly at his shirt that Ryan came back to reality. And the reality was that Hope was only 15. And he was much, much older than that.

"Hope... sweetheart, we need to stop." Ryan mumbled.

"Why? It's making me feel a way that I've never felt before, and I like it." Hope murmured and she nipped at Ryan's earlobe.

"Hope, look at me." Ryan said, capturing her chin between his fingers. "I have never felt the way about anyone else that I do about you. And because of how I feel about you, I can't let this continue right now. You are 15 years old, Hope. You're underage. I shouldn't even let you kiss me, let alone anything else." He continued. "And I really don't want to give your father a reason to hunt me down before I get a chance to prove myself as being worthy of you."

"But if there was anything wrong with us being together, my Uncle would have stopped it already." Hope replied with a pout.

"I'm not saying that we can't be together, Hope. I'm saying that we can't have sex. Not right now, at least. And especially not today. We've come close 3 times now, and that's 3 times too many for having just met today. Please, Hope, I'm asking you to think rationally about this." Ryan said.

"Each time has been a different reason." Hope whispered.

"You stopped us the first time. But every single time that one of us has put as stop to it has been for the right reason. There just happens to be a lot of right reasons for us to not have sex right now." Ryan reminded her.

"Okay." Hope said with a sigh after a few minutes of searching Ryan's eyes with her own before untangling herself from around him.

When Hope made to step around him, Ryan lightly caught her wrist and pulled her back towards him so that he could press his lips to her forehead.

"I do want to be with you Hope. We just need to take some time to truly get to know each other better." Ryan said.

"You do realize that all the touching and being close to each other is just going to make things harder for us, right? I really don't care that there's an age difference between us Ryan; and I know that I don't want to be with anyone else." Hope replied.

"You still have so much life left to live, Hope. How can you possibly know that you won't find someone else that is more suitable for you?" Ryan asked.

"Because I just do, Ryan. Isn't that enough?" Hope said as she threw her arms into the air. "I have never been this comfortable with anyone in my entire life, not even with my own parents. And if the universe needed my father to be a hybrid so that he could live long enough to meet my mother and have me, then maybe we were brought together for a similar reason. Yes, I'm only 15 years old, and yes, I have a lot of life left to live, but I want to live it with you, Ryan."

"You are not going to be swayed from this, are you?"

"No, I'm not. So unless you really screw up, you're stuck with me."

Hope turned around continued in the direction they had been walking. Ryan stood rooted in his spot for a few moments, the heat and warmth that he felt flowing from her into him slowly being replaced by the cold. Watching Hope walk away from him, even for those few moments had Ryan realizing that he never wanted to do anything so screwed up that he would end up watching her walk away from him for real. So with that thought in mind, Ryan hurried to catch up with Hope and, once he had, took her hand in his, sighing as he felt the warmth from the spell radiating from their hands. The rest of the walk was made in silence, but as soon as they came across the only mansion that suited the Mikaelson family, Hope let out a gasp as she took it all in.

"This is it." She whispered.

"Do you want to head inside?" Ryan asked.

"Yes... no... I don't know." Hope replied. "I'm not sure how I feel about finding the place where my life was first created. Maybe we should head back, talk to Uncle Elijah. I would rather we go inside with the use of a key over breaking and entering." She said.

"There's no need, Hope."

Her uncle's voice had Hope spinning around while Ryan cringed slightly next to her before slowly turning around to face the vampire. Elijah was leaning against his car, watching the two of them intently. Ryan couldn't tell if Elijah knew what had almost transpired between him and Hope, but that didn't stop him from getting anxious. He had had a feeling in the pit of his stomach every time he had been around Elijah that day that at any moment, the vampire would take Hope away from him. And Hope had essentially said it herself, whatever Elijah said was law in the Mikaelson family. Especially with Hope staying with Elijah and Elena for the next two weeks.

"How long have you been there, Uncle Elijah?" Hope asked.

"Long enough. I had planned on coming here today to check on the grounds and such, anyway. What I hadn't expected, however, was to see my underage niece heavily making out with a man who is almost as old as her father." Elijah replied, holding up his hand to silence whatever Hope was about to say. "I am not saying that you two can't be together Hope. But look at this from an outsider's perspective if they had driven by the two of you. You are clearly underage, and Ryan looks to be in his mid-20s. Anyone who doesn't know about the supernatural community, would call the cops on Ryan and have him arrested for pedophilia. I want you to be happy, Hope, so you need to be careful on where the two of you engage in that sort of activity." He explained.

"Yes, Uncle Elijah." Hope said as her head dropped.

"Now, would you like to see the house?" Elijah asked.

"Yes please." Hope replied with a nod.

"May I make a comment, Sir?" Ryan asked.

"Of course."

"Has your family ever considered retrofitting this into being a school for the supernatural?"

Elijah raised an eyebrow at Ryan and smirked.

"Elena and I have discussed that very thing. It was actually what we were talking about in the conversation Hope overheard about the mansion. It would need a lot of retrofitting to be up to code for a boarding school. Do you think you would be up to the task of helping me do that?" Elijah asked, eyeing Ryan.

"Yes Sir." Ryan said.

"Then I will need you to take notes on everything that will have to be done to make this place a suitable school." Elijah said as he walked ahead of Ryan and Hope.

Hope shared a look with Ryan before they both hurried to catch up to Elijah.

 **TVD/TO/Legacies – HAFF – TVD/TO/Legacies**

By the time that the sun was setting, Elijah and Ryan had a clear list of everything that they would have to do about the mansion. Hope was happy that her uncle was accepting of Ryan, and that Ryan had seemed to ease up a bit around her uncle as they three of them had walked around the mansion. But as Elijah was getting ready to leave, Hope tugged on Ryan's hand and stepped backwards up the stairs. When Elijah reached the front door and realized that neither Hope nor Ryan were behind him, he turned around and gave Hope a small smile.

"Behave. And I expect you to be home before 11." He said.

"Of course, Uncle Elijah." Hope replied with a nod and led Ryan up to the second floor.

"Haven't we spent enough time alone in a bedroom today?" Ryan asked with a smirk.

"Not like this. I want to get some stuff that my dad left here and bring it to Elijah and Elena's house. I was honestly surprised to see that there was still some stuff here after all this time." Hope explained.

"What exactly are you wanting to bring back with you? There's only so much you and I can carry, Hope. Especially if we're walking back." Ryan pointed out.

"My uncle doesn't actually need a car to get around. And he knows how I am about painting and paint supplies. Since my father has more or less abandoned this set, I'm taking it for myself. And we can use Uncle Elijah's car to get it all back." Hope said as pushed open the double doors to the room that once belonged to her father and walked to the far side of the room.

As Hope looked through her father's art supplies, Ryan walked around room, looking at the pieces of art, and the very few photographs that Hope's father had on the shelves. Being drawn to one photograph in particular, Ryan stepped closer and easily recognized the staircase as the one in the very mansion that they were currently in. He recognized Elijah instantly, and the one in the back middle looked similar enough to Hope that Ryan guessed that to be her father, but the other three were a mystery to him.

"Hope, are these your other uncles and aunt?" Ryan asked, glancing over his shoulder at her while pointing to the picture.

"Yeah, that's Finn, Rebekah and Kol. Aunt Freya was believed to be long dead by the time this picture was taken. She was taken from my grandmother by my great aunt, and when my step-grandfather returned from some war or something, my grandmother told him that they had lost Freya to plague and had to burn her body to avoid it spreading to the rest of the village." Hope explained.

"So Elijah and your father are only half-brothers?" Ryan inquired.

"Yes, but it wasn't until after these 5 were turned into Vampires with Dark Magic, and my father killed his first human while feeding that the truth of my grandmother's infidelity was made known." Hope replied.

"Are they and your Aunt Freya your father's only siblings?"

"No, they had a younger brother. But, uh, Dad doesn't like talking about what happened to him. None of them do, really. All I know is that his death was the turning point that led my grandmother into using Dark Magic to turn her remaining children into Vampires."

Ryan simply nodded and wrapped his arm around Hope's shoulders before kissing her temple. From the way her voice was slightly trembling, he could tell that talking about her family was an emotional subject. He didn't want to upset her any more than she had already been that day, so he just let her silently lead him over to the pile of art supplies that she had placed on the bed.

"I'm taking these for now. We can always grab the rest one of the days that you and Uncle Elijah are working on the house." Hope said as she picked up the tubes of paint and paintbrushes, leaving the easel and canvases for Ryan to grab.

"I didn't know that you were a painter." Ryan commented as they headed downstairs.

"It hadn't come up in conversation yet today. But yeah, I take after my dad in that sense. He paints too, and usually to get his anger out in a non-lethal way. He hasn't painted much in the last few years, but he still sketches now and then. Usually while people watching."

"What about you?"

"I haven't really been inspired to do much of any kind of art, lately. Given with how I've been feeling with my family, but after today, I think that might be changing."

"Hope, I'm really glad that I've been able to make you feel better today. If what I saw today was only a fraction of what you've been going through, I don't even want to imagine what it's been like back home for you."

Hope nodded stiffly as they walked out to the car. As they put the art supplies in the trunk, Hope contemplated how she was going to voice what she wanted to say. She wanted Ryan to know everything about her, but she knew that she wasn't going to be able to talk about all of it without breaking down again. But she could always show him... that is if he was open to the idea of her showing him, which is where her contemplation came in.

"Ryan... if I were to use magic to show you some of my memories, would you be open to seeing them? I want you to know everything about me, but there are some things that I know I won't actually be able to say out loud." Hope said slowly.

"Only if you are willing to share that with me. But we can do that tomorrow. Take it a little at a time. You've had a very long and tiring 24 hours, and I need to get you back home before your curfew." Ryan replied as he kissed the back of Hope's hand while helping her into the car.

"Sounds like a plan. Plus we have our date tomorrow, and I definitely need my beauty rest before that." Hope replied with a wink.

As Ryan drove them back home, Hope fell into a light sleep, her hand clutching Ryan's every few seconds, each time sending a wave of heat through both of their bodies. When they got back, Ryan carried Hope up to her room before letting Elijah and Elena know about the art supplies in the trunk of the car. He was just about to walk out the front door when there was shuffling at the top of the stairs.

"You were going to leave without saying goodnight?" Hope asked while walking halfway down the stairs.

"I didn't want to wake you up." Ryan replied as he met her in the middle. "Goodnight, Sweetheart." He added with a light kiss on her lips.

"Goodnight, Ryan." Hope breathed out, and with that, he was out of the house and Hope was wrapping her arms around her body.


	6. Fancy Meeting You Here

Holidays Are for Family

Chapter 6: Fancy Meeting You Here

When Hope woke up the next morning, she felt better than she had in a very long time. As she slowly blinked away the sleep from her eyes, she saw the easel and a blank canvas set up in the corner by the window. With a smile she tossed the covers off of her and walked over to the set up. Picking up the graphite pencil, Hope started to draw the face of the first person who popped into her head. When they had talked the day before about each needing just one more gift, she had every intention of finding something in town that reminded her of him, but with her father's art supplies at her disposal, she thought that Ryan would like something more personal. Something that truly showed him how she felt. And what better way than a painting of how she sees him?

"That looks amazing so far, honey." Elena commented from the doorway, and Hope looked over her shoulder.

"Thanks Aunt Elena. I was going to buy him a gift, but I thought this would be better." Hope said with a smile before turning back to the canvas.

"Are you going to tell him that you are painting him a picture?" Elena asked.

"Aren't Christmas presents supposed to be a surprise, at least for the most part?" Hope questioned back.

"They are, but if you gave him any indication in any of your conversations yesterday that you were going to be buying him a present, he might think your feelings for him have changed after getting a good night's sleep if you don't at least tell him that you have something else in mind." Elena cautioned.

"Okay, I'll make sure to tell him." Hope said with a nod.

"Your Uncle is making pancakes for breakfast, so why don't you come down and eat something?" Elena suggested.

"I'll be down in a little bit."

Once Elena nodded and headed downstairs, Hope took a piece of tarp and covered the canvas. If Ryan were to come into her room today, she didn't want him to see the painting. Heading over to where she had dropped her suitcase the morning before, Hope rummaged through it for something to wear before heading to take a shower. When she got out of the shower, she slipped on a black cap-sleeved dress that had ruffles around the collar and along the top buttons, a corset style belt, and layered skirt before pulling on a pair of black tights and black ankle boots. After brushing the tangles out of her hair, Hope pulled it into a low ponytail and headed downstairs. She was halfway down the steps when she heard more than just 2 voices in the kitchen.

"I'm asking for some ideas, please. I want to get her something special, but I don't know what to get her." Ryan said.

"You're wrong, Ryan. You know exactly what to get her, you're just nervous that she'll think it's too ordinary." Elena replied.

"Morning." Hope said with a smile as she walked over to Ryan and wrapped her arms around him. "Are you joining us for breakfast?" She asked as she stood on her toes to press a kiss to his cheek.

"If your Uncle is okay with that." Ryan responded after kissing the top of Hope's head and glancing at Elijah.

"I have no issue with you joining us. It's evident even more this morning than it was yesterday that you make my niece happy, and I do not enjoy seeing her unhappy." Elijah said as he handed both Hope and Ryan a plate of food.

As they carried their plates to the table, Ryan kept a hand on the small of Hope's back. Once they sat down, Ryan subconsciously rubbed Hope's back. He couldn't take his hand away. And while Hope knew that the warmth spell she had cast the day before had worn off already, she couldn't help feeling jolts of heat from Ryan's hand. When they finished eating, Ryan leaned in to give Hope a kiss on the lips but she playfully pulled away.

"You're face is all sticky from the syrup. And I'm not even sure how you even _got_ that much syrup on your face." She said with a giggle.

"I'm offended. I thought it make my kiss extra sweet." Ryan said with a playful pout before it faltered and his signature smirk replaced it. "I bet I could still get you to kiss me like this." He added nonchalantly.

"You'd have to catch me first." Hope replied before she dashed out of the kitchen, with Ryan not far behind, leaving Elijah and Elena smiling and shaking their heads.

It didn't take long for Ryan to catch up to Hope and pull her into his embrace. Spinning her around in his arms, Ryan pinned Hope between himself and the doorway to the study and pressed his lips to hers. He had been right about the kiss tasting sweeter, Hope had to admit that, even if it was just to herself, but she soon found herself seeking out the traces of syrup with her tongue. And as Hope's hands traveled up Ryan's chest and to the back of his neck, where she carded her fingers through his hair, Ryan's hands stayed firmly on Hope's hips, keeping her as close as he possibly could. When all of the syrup was gone, Hope broke the kiss to get some much needed air.

"Told you I could get you to kiss me." Ryan breathed out with a smirk.

"You caught me under the mistletoe again. I couldn't refuse tradition." Hope replied as she tilted her head back against the doorframe and smiled innocently up at him.

"Did you not enjoy it none-the-less? You seemed to be really into it."

"I couldn't have you walking around with syrup all over your face, could I? It might attract the wrong creature."

"I would never do that. You are the only girl that I want to be attracted to me."

"I can't tell you how happy that makes me." Hope said as she let out a sigh and smiled up at him again. "Is our date starting now, or later?" She asked.

"Later. I'll be back around noon to pick you up." Ryan replied. "And you look beautiful today. I'm a very lucky guy." He added as he held both of Hope's hands out from her body and stepped back to take in her appearance.

"I haven't even my hair or make-up yet." Hope commented.

"Let me let you in on a little secret, Hope. You do not have to get dolled up for me. I told you yesterday, I like you just the way you are." Ryan said before pressing a kiss to her forehead. "I'll be back in a few hours."

Hope nodded as she watched him walk towards the front door. As he opened the door, Ryan turned and gave her a wink before heading outside and closing the door behind him. Once he was gone, Hope made her way into the kitchen and jumped up to sit on the counter.

"So, what else do we have to do to decorate for Christmas? I know that you guys hadn't decorated before hand because you had been planning on staying in New Orleans through the holidays, but now that we're here, what do we need to do?" Hope asked.

"Your Uncle could use some help with putting the Christmas lights on the house outside, and we can decorate the tree. All of the ornaments are in the front room." Elena said as she finished drying the last plate and put it back in the cupboard.

"Sounds like fun. Can we put on Christmas music?" Hope asked.

"Anything you want to do, Sweetheart." Elijah replied before kissing her temple.

"Oh, thank you for setting up the easel and canvas in my room last night."

"You're very welcome, honey."

 **TVD/TO/Legacies – HAFF – TVD/TO/Legacies**

Over the next couple of hours, Hope helped her aunt and uncle decorate the tree and listened to Christmas music, stopping after every few ornaments to dance with Elena. Once the tree was finally decorated, Elena shooed Elijah and Hope outside to hang the Christmas lights while she put the empty boxes into the garage. At one point, however, when Elijah had gone inside to get some more hooks for the lights, Landon came over to where Hope was untangling the next strand of lights.

"Hey Hope." Landon said with a smile.

"Hi Landon." Hope replied, sparing him a brief look before returning her attention to the task at hand.

"I uh, I wanted to apologize for how I acted yesterday, and how I treated you." Landon said as he stuffed his hands into the pockets of his jeans and kicked at a pile of snow.

"Apology accepted." Hope replied.

"So why did your aunt and uncle wait until just a couple days before Christmas to start decorating? They seem like the kind of people who would have had all of this done at the beginning of the month." Landon inquired.

"They were originally going to be in New Orleans with the rest of my family, so they didn't see the point in decorating if they weren't going to be here on Christmas." Hope said before she attached the end of the strand that she had just untangled to the previous one.

"Want some help?" Landon asked.

"Sure. You can untangle that next bunch of lights." Hope shrugged as she moved the ladder over to where she needed it.

With a nod, Landon picked up the strand that Hope had indicated and started trying to untangle the mess. But his eyes were more on Hope than on the task she had given him, and Landon found himself wondering what it must feel like for Ryan to have Hope in his arms and wanting that himself. Walking towards Hope, Landon wasn't paying attention to which was Hope was leaning while hanging the lights, and he "accidentally" knocked the ladder, causing Hope to lose her footing and starting falling.

"Fancy meeting you here." Ryan said with a smile as he caught Hope before she could hit the ground.

"Is it noon already?" Hope asked.

"It is. And I'm glad I was here to catch you. That would have been a nasty fall." Ryan replied as he set Hope on her feet.

"Are you okay Hope? I'm so sorry. I was coming over to ask you for help with figure out which way this needs to be untangled, and I must have tripped or something and bumped the ladder." Landon said, and it was Ryan's turn to glare at his brother.

"I'm fine Landon. And don't worry about the lights. Just leave them for my Uncle." Hope said before looking up at Ryan. "I'm going to grab my coat and my purse and let Elena know that we're heading to town. I'll be right back." She said reaching up to press a kiss to Ryan's cheek. "Behave." She whispered.

"No promises, Sweetheart, but I'll try." Ryan replied.

As Hope walked around Landon to head inside, he tried apologizing again before turning to face his brother once the front door closed and he leveled Ryan with a hard gaze.

"Why are you everywhere?" Landon asked.

"Hope and I have plans." Ryan replied with a shrug.

"I was going to catch her." Landon commented.

"Were you? Because you didn't take into account which way she was leaning when you "accidentally" bumped into the ladder. Since she was leaning away from the direction you were in, there was no way that you would have caught her before she hit the ground." Ryan scoffed.

"You don't know that." Landon argued while clenching his hands into fists at his side.

"Fighting me isn't going to win you any points with her, Little Brother. Just let it go." Ryan said before he walked around Landon and waited on the porch for Hope.

After Hope came back outside, and saw that both brothers were still standing, and both seemed to be in one piece, she smiled at Ryan and took his hand in hers. They walked towards town in a comfortable, holding hands the entire time while Hope rested her head against Ryan's arm, but as soon as they reached town, Ryan gave Hope an apologetic look and let go of her hand. Hope frowned and quickly blinked away tears when her uncle's words for the night before came back to her: _'you need to be careful on where the two of you engage in that sort of activity'_. With a small nod, Hope slipped her hands into her coat pockets and putting on a mask of being okay with just walking next to him.

"So, who do you need to buy a present for?" Hope asked, trying to hide the shaking in her voice.

"This really amazing girl I met yesterday. You?" Ryan replied with a smile.

"Um, well, plans changed so I no longer need to _buy_ a present, since I'm making it." Hope said glancing at him from the side of her eye to gauge his reaction.

"Hope..." Ryan said slowly.

"I told you yesterday that my artistic inspiration was being replenished after spending the day with you." Hope cut him off.

"Are you sure you wouldn't rather just buy a present?" Ryan inquired carefully.

"I'm sure. You're too special to buy a present for when I know that I can make something more meaningful." Hope replied.

"And now I feel like I'm going to let you down with I have in mind to get you." Ryan said with a sigh.

Hope put her hand on Ryan's arm and turned him to face her. She so desperately wanted to kiss his worries away but held back from doing so.

"Look at me Ryan. Do not feel like you have to impress me with what you plan on getting me, because I know that I'll love it. And before you ask me how I know that, it's because it's coming from you." Hope said.

"I don't deserve you, Hope Mikaelson, but I am so happy that I have you in my life now." Ryan said, reaching to take Hope's hands in his, but then dropping his hands back to his sides. "This is going to be difficult." He muttered.

"I know what you mean. All I want to do is hold your hand, and kiss you, and if anyone in town sees us, our relationship is over before it has a chance to truly begin." Hope agreed with a frown.

"So... do you need any art supplies that you didn't grab from the mansion last night?" Ryan asked awkwardly.

"Uh, yeah, some cleaning solution for the brushes. Since they've been sitting around for so long, and I don't know if my dad actually cleaned them after he used them last, I just want to clean them before I use them." Hope replied.

With a nod, the two of them turned in the direction of the art supply store and waked in silence. There was a little bit more distance between them this time around, and Hope couldn't help feeling like everyone they passed were judging them just for walking next to each other. As they neared the art store, however, their path was blocked by the sheriff's car, and Sheriff Donovan stepped out with a frown at Hope.

"Hope, is everything okay?" Sheriff Donovan asked.

"Everything's fine, Sheriff Donovan. Why do you ask?" Hope questioned subconsciously stepping towards Ryan.

"I got a call from an anonymous caller saying that you were being harassed by an older guy." Sheriff Donovan said, eyeing Ryan. "I didn't realize that the guy in question was you, Ryan." He added.

"I'm sorry for the inconvenience, Matt, but I'm sure I can tell you exactly who that caller was, and why he called." Ryan said, and Hope felt the tension leave her body.

"Was it your brother? He's not usually one to make such wild accusations." Sheriff Donovan asked.

"Yes. And while you are correct that he wouldn't usually do this, he's jealous. Hope and I spent the day yesterday starting to get to know each other, and Landon has, unfortunately gotten it into his head that he has a claim to Hope, and that I'm ruining his chances of being with her. But nothing illegal has happened between me and Hope, so you needn't worry." Ryan explained.

"And I'm staying with Uncle and Aunt, so if you would like to confirm with them, you are welcome to do so, Sheriff." Hope added.

"I will, sorry for bothering you both." Sheriff Donovan said before getting back into his squad car and driving off.

Hope let out a sigh of relief as he pulled around the far corner and out of sight before turning towards Ryan who was clearly pissed off. Before she could say or do anything to calm him down, Ryan was turning around was heading back home with a murderous expression on his face. Just to be able to catch up to him, Hope had to run after him, but once she did, she stepped in front of him and grabbed his face.

"Ryan, please, don't let him ruin our time together. He did enough of that yesterday, don't give him the satisfaction of knowing he got to us." Hope begged.

"I'm not upset that he did this to me. He has some delusional idea that if he ruins what we have started, that it'll endear you to him, and for that, I'm pissed off. I need to set him straight. He will not get anywhere with you if he continues to try and sabotage us." Ryan said as he lightly took Hope's wrists in his hands and held them against his chest.

"And you can do that... after we're done with our date." Hope said.

"Maybe coming into town where people know us was a bad idea." Ryan muttered.

"No it wasn't. We can still enjoy our time together, Ryan." Hope argued. "We made this plan so that we could spend some time together, away from our families, and get to know each other. We can still do that. We just have to be careful about what we say and do." She added, and Ryan sighed.

"Okay, fine. But as soon as we get home, I'm going to teach my brother a lesson." Ryan agreed with a nod.


	7. Bursting Christmas Eve

Holidays Are for Family

Chapter 7: Bursting Christmas Eve

The rest of their date was uneventful in the sense that they weren't stopped by anyone else that they knew, but it remained tense. When they stopped at the Grill to eat lunch, Hope tried to reassure him with her hand on his knee under the table, but that only had him clenching his hands to keep from touching her in ways that he shouldn't. But once they got back home, Ryan couldn't keep his hands to himself anymore and pulled Hope as close as he could while pressing his lips to hers in a desperate kiss. They were so lost in the kiss that they weren't paying attention to their surroundings and missed just who all was in the house.

"Ehem."

The clearing of someone's throat had them breaking apart. As soon as Hope saw Sheriff Donovan standing in the living room with her aunt and uncle, she knew they were screwed. But instead of looking upset, he just looked sympathetic. He moved away from Elijah and Elena, and towards Hope and Ryan, and motioned for them to follow him into the kitchen. After indicating that they should sit down, Matt leaned against the island and watched silently as Ryan sat down before pulling Hope into his lap.

"I really wish you two hadn't lied to me earlier today. Do you know the kind of tough spot I'm in now?" Matt asked.

"With all due respect, Matt, we didn't lie. I said that nothing illegal has happened between us, and that's the truth. Yes, we've kissed, you just witnessed that, but that's all that's happened. And in the privacy of Hope's home while she's here, and with the knowledge that we are attracted to each other by Elijah and Elena, we can do whatever we want." Ryan explained.

"She's 15, Ryan." Matt stated.

"A fact that we are both very much aware of, and the main reason nothing other than kissing has happened between us." Ryan commented.

"You have to give me something here, Ryan. I know you aren't human, but that doesn't mean that you can't be charged with pedophilia, and I really don't want that to happen to you." Matt said.

"You could just look the other way." Hope muttered.

"No, Hope, I really can't. I've done that too much in my career as it is when it comes to the people I'm closest to being Supernatural beings and needing to cover up when one of them kills someone." Matt said as he pinched the bridge of his nose. "I will compromise with you both... I will disregard what I just saw, if, and only if, you two _**do not**_ make out while I'm around, or I will have to arrest you, Ryan." He added.

Ryan nodded and Matt left the kitchen, whispering something to Elijah and Elena before heading out of the front door. Ryan had just wrapped his arms around Hope's waist, and she had just laid her head on his shoulder when her uncle and aunt had come into the kitchen and sat down across from them. Elena looked concerned, and Elijah looked annoyed. When Ryan opened his mouth to explain what happened, Elijah silenced him with a look.

"Mr Donovan explained what happened already. And believe me, Ryan, my annoyance is not directed at you." Elijah said before pushing his chair back from the table and starting to pace back and forth in the kitchen.

"You're acting like Dad, Uncle Elijah." Hope muttered as her eyes followed his path.

"I've paced while thinking since I was a child, Hope. Your father only started doing so after Mikael started coming after us." Elijah explained while not looking at his niece.

"Ryan, why don't you take Hope upstairs?" Elena suggested. "It might be a while before Elijah comes to a solution on how to best handle everything." She added.

Ryan lifted Hope into his arms so that he was carrying her bridal style and Hope instantly wrapped her arms around his neck while using his shoulder as a pillow. She hadn't realized just how emotionally draining the day had been until she was mostly asleep by the time Ryan reached the bottom of the stairs. By the time Ryan was at the top of the stairs, and turning towards Hope's room, her breathing has all but evened out with sleep. When he laid her down on the bed, her eyes opened slightly and she looked up at him.

"You won't leave me, right?" Hope asked.

"What do you mean?" Ryan questioned as he brushed some of Hope's hair behind her ear.

"If too many people find out about us, and they start trying to pressure you to leave me, will you stay with me?" Hope explained.

"Only when I have to, will I leave. But if others try and force me to leave against my will, I have no problem with taking care of them." Ryan replied.

"Please don't kill anyone in the name of keeping me safe. I've had enough of that with my family, I don't want that with the man I spend the rest of my life with." Hope said, her eyes going wide.

"That has always been a last resort when taking care of people." Ryan replied as he handed Hope her pajamas.

"I'm not ready to go to bed yet." Hope commented while trying to stifle a yawn.

"But you are tired. So get changed, and I'll stay until you fall asleep." Ryan said as he pressed a kiss to her forehead and then stepped out into the hallway.

After the door closed behind Ryan, Hope slowly changed into her pajamas and then headed into the bathroom to brush her teeth. Once she was ready for bed, Hope went over to the door and opened it, pulling Ryan inside before closing it again. Leading him over to her bed, Hope slid under the covers and pulled them over her before Ryan laid down behind her and wrapped an arm around her waist. The last thing Hope remembered doing before letting sleep overtake her was intertwining her fingers with Ryan's and holding their hands over her heart.

 **TVD/TO/Legacies – HAFF – TVD/TO/Legacies**

When Hope woke up the following morning, she sighed in relief that Ryan hadn't left. And having woken up in the same position that she had fallen asleep in made Hope realize that she hadn't tossed and turned from nightmares of what could have been for her life growing up. Slowly turning over in Ryan's embrace, Hope let out a small gasp when she found Ryan staring at her.

"Were you watching me sleep?" Hope asked.

"You've been holding my hand over your heart all night, Hope, I felt the change between you being asleep and waking up, so I just woke up myself." Ryan replied before pressing a kiss to her forehead. "I should get home. I still have to wrap your Christmas present." He added but made no movement towards leaving.

"You're not leaving." Hope pointed out.

"Your company is a lot more pleasant than what I will be facing when I get next door. I still need to teach my brother a lesson about how to show a woman that you care about them." Ryan said.

"What are you thinking of doing?" Hope asked slowly.

"It's time Landon learns just what exactly I am, who our father is, and what he's facing if he keeps trying to mess up our relationship." Ryan replied darkly.

"Wait... Landon doesn't know that I come from a family of vampires?" Hope asked as she sat up quickly.

"Elijah and Elena have always been very careful about what they drink when Landon is around. Seylah didn't want Landon finding out about being a supernatural being himself for as long as possible. Well, that ends today. He went too far yesterday by calling the Sheriff when we've done nothing but deny him something that he wants." Ryan explained.

Hope pulled her knees up to her chest and rest her cheek on top of them while staring at Ryan. It should have been unsettling finding out that Landon knew about the Supernatural world but didn't _know_ about Supernatural beings. But it wasn't. Instead Landon was the farthest thing from her mind when Ryan had spent the night after originally planning on leaving once she fell asleep. Scooting back under the covers, Hope curled up against Ryan's side as he wrapped an arm around her shoulders and used him as a pillow with her head resting over his heart. With one hand resting on her shoulder, Ryan rubbed his thumb against Hope's warm skin while linking their fingers together with his other hand and bringing her hand up to his lips and pressed a lingering kiss to her inner wrist.

Hope was just starting to fall back asleep while Ryan pressed kisses to the top of her head when there was a commotion downstairs that jolted her back awake. She had just enough time to look up at Ryan before her bedroom door was thrown open and her father stormed into the room, glaring daggers at Ryan.

"Hope Andrea Mikaelson, you have 3 seconds to tell me what the hell is going on here." Klaus said, his hybrid visage appearing.

"Dad... I... what are you even doing here!?" Hope asked. "You're supposed to be in New Orleans with Caroline and the twins... and the rest of the family!" Hope accused as she sat up and leveled her father's hard stare with one of her own.

"You, out of my daughter's bed, now!" Klaus shouted at Ryan.

"KLAUS!" Caroline exclaimed. "You need to calm down this instant. You are not going to get anywhere with Hope if you immediately start yelling and threatening."

"I'll see you later, Hope." Ryan said regretfully before kissing her forehead and slipping out of the room.

"Niklaus, is this really the best time for you to be well... you?" Elijah asked.

"EVERYONE OUT OF MY ROOM!" Hope shouted.

"Hope..." Caroline started to say.

"No! All of you! I want all of you out of my room!" Hope snapped.

"We are not done talking young lady." Klaus glowered.

"We never started talking, Dad! Now get out!" Hope said as she used her magic to throw him out of the room and slamming the door shut and placing a barrier spell around her room.

As soon as she was alone, Hope dropped to her knees and let the tears fall. When there was a tap on her window, Hope looked up and saw Ryan on the roof outside the window and quickly got up to let him in, altering the barrier spell so that he wouldn't get hurt. Once the window was closed again, Ryan pulled Hope into a tight hug and pressed a kiss to the top of her head.

"I'm so sorry, Hope. I panicked." Ryan murmured.

"I don't blame you." Hope replied sullenly. "My father can be pretty scary. There was one time when I was 9 when he went on killing spree. I wanted to see him, so I used astral projection to do so, and all I saw was a monster." She explained.

"You were 9 when that happened?" Ryan asked as he pulled back from the hug to wipe the tears away from her cheeks and look into her eyes.

"Yeah, he saw me and yelled at me to get out." Hope whispered as she looked towards where the canvas was still covered. "And just like that, being with you and away from my family, the artist inspiration that I had been feeling is gone. Why did they have to come and ruin it?" She asked as a fresh wave of tears fell from her eyes.

"Hey, I'm still here. We can stay up here today. You don't have to interact with your family if you don't want to." Ryan whispered.

"Hope?"

The voices of her step-sisters had Hope pulling away from Ryan and looking over towards the bathroom. She waved her hand to allow Josie and Lizzie through the barrier before turning back to Ryan. Ryan eyed the girls as they walked towards the pair cautiously, and they eyed him right back.

"Hope, are you okay?" Lizzie asked.

"Of course I'm not okay, Liz... my dad was his usual hot-headed, jumping-to-conclusions self, and just yelled at me and the guy I like when we weren't doing anything wrong." Hope replied bitterly as she moved away from Ryan and sat down on her bed, drawing her knees up to her chest.

"What _were_ you doing?" Josie asked slowly.

"We were laying in bed... well, I was under the covers, Ryan was on top of them, and I was using him as a pillow." Hope explained.

"Are you Ryan?" Lizzie questioned.

"Come on, Lizzie, of course he's Ryan. Why else would he be here, comforting Hope?" Josie chided her sister.

"It's not right to assume, Jo. I wanted to make sure." Lizzie said while rolling her eyes. "If you do anything to hurt Hope, we don't care what kind of Supernatural creature you are, you're dead." She added.

"Understood. But it's not me that you should be worrying about hurting Hope. My half-brother, he's... jealous of mine and Hope's connection. He purposefully bumped into the ladder that Hope was on yesterday, causing her to fall." Ryan explained and Hope's head snapped up.

"He did that _on purpose_!?" Hope exclaimed.

"Yes. But given how he's been acting since you got here, are you really surprised, Hope?" Ryan asked as he moved to sit behind Hope and encouraged her to lean back against him.

"Where is he? Imma kill him." Lizzie said, her eyes flashing with anger.

"No, Lizzie, you're not. I don't want anyone else that I care about killing people that are out to get me. There's enough blood on the hands of this family as it is. There doesn't need to be anymore." Hope said with a sigh.

"So... Hope, are you going to introduce us?" Josie asked as she watched her step-sister relax into Ryan's embrace.

"Oh... right... that. Josie, Lizzie, this is Ryan; Ryan this is Josie and Lizzie, they are practically my step-sisters." Hope said.

"Nice to meet you both." Ryan said with a nod.

"What species are you, Ryan?" Josie asked.

"I'm a golem, actually."

Hope was certain that with the looks on the twins' faces that if either of them had been drinking something, they would have done a spit take at hearing what Ryan was. They shared a look with each other before looking pointedly at Hope like she was crazy.

"I don't mind it." Hope said with a shrug. "I actually like that about him." She added as she turned her head to look up at him with a smile.

"How old are you?" Lizzie asked.

"Around 900 or so years old. I was created from a monster that was created by a witch, a vampire, and a werewolf." Ryan explained.

"Yeah, Klaus is not going to be happy about that age difference." Josie commented.

"Then he would be a hypocrite." Hope replied with a huff.

"How... oh, wait. Nevermind. Him and mom... 1000 years. Is that why Elijah and Elena have been so mellow about this?" Lizzie questioned.

"Yep. That, and Uncle Elijah just wants me to be happy, and he's seen how happy Ryan makes me, even after only knowing each other for a couple of days." Hope nodded.

"I'm just waiting for either Klaus and mom to get married, or for Elijah and Elena to get married so that we will officially be part of the Mikaelson family." Josie commented.

"When Elijah and Elena get married, would that like, make us your aunts, as well as your step-sisters?" Lizzie asked, her eyes sparkling.

"First of all, Josie, Dad and Caroline have been dancing around each other since before any of us were even born, you're already officially part of the Mikaelson family. Second of all, Lizzie, no. You will not be my aunts. You'll be my Uncle's step-sisters-in-law. The only familial relation the three of us will have is sisters." Hope explained.

"Your family sounds very complicated, Hope." Ryan whispered in her ear.

"That's kind of what happens when we're talking about the Original Family, and most of their significant others are all 1000 years younger than them."

A knock on the door caused the conversation to cease as Hope slowly got up and walked over to it. Placing one hand on the doorknob, and the other on the doorframe, she took a deep breath and asked who it was. When her mom replied, Hope opened the door and let her mom pass over the barrier. Hope watched as Hayley took in the sight before her before turning to her daughter and wrapping her arms around her in a hug. Hope hesitated before returning her mom's hug, but as soon as she did, she sighed. While she was still upset with her mom for the other night, Hope had missed her immensely over the last couple of days, despite how happy Ryan had been making her. A clearing throat broke the mother and daughter apart, and Hope turned to see Ryan standing a few feet away, extending his had to Hayley.

"Ryan Clarke." He said and Hayley stared at him for a moment before pulling him in for a hug.

"Thank you for taking care of my baby girl. But know that if you ever hurt her, I will not hold back on hurting you just the same. Do I make myself clear?" Hayley asked.

"Crystal clear." Ryan replied, locking eyes with Hope over her mom's shoulder.

"Good. Now, as much as I appreciate everything you've done to help my daughter over the past couple of days, but right now, I need to talk to her, alone. Girls, your father is downstairs and would like to see you. And you, Ryan, we will see you later today, as Elena tells me that you and your family are invited for dinner." Hayley said and waited for the others to leave, with Ryan giving Hope a hug and a kiss on her temple, before turning to Hope.

The conversation that followed was a tearful one. Hope poured everything that she had been feeling towards her mouth out, and Hayley listened to it all without comment until Hope was done. Hayley let Hope know that while she never meant to alienate Hope in the first place, that she would be more mindful going forward about how she split her time and focus. Hayley let Hope know that she and Jackson had started talking about having kids, and that when the three of them had some time, that they wanted to talk to Hope about it as a family. Hope told her mom about how, _herself_ , Ryan made her feel, and how she didn't feel like she needed to hide anything from him. That he had similarly dark experiences in his own life that he was able to relate to Hope, and vice versa, and that she was positive that Ryan was her epic love.

After all of the emotional talk, Hope was exhausted. But she also needed to finish the painting for Ryan. Pulling away from Hayley, Hope stood up and walked over the easel, taking the tarp off and showing her progress to her mom.

"What do you think so far? I know it's just the sketch of it, but do you think he'll like it?" Hope asked while biting her lip.

"I think he'll love it. But please tell me your uncle and aunt didn't buy you all of these art supplies. You have a bunch back home." Hayley commented.

"They didn't buy it. We were at the mansion the other day, and I took some of Dad's stuff that had just been sitting there, more or less collecting dust since before I was born." Hope replied.

"Your father is going to love hearing that." Hayley commented with a roll of her eyes. "If he promises to behave and actually listen to what you have to say, will you allow him to come in here?" She asked.

"I supposed, but I reserve the right to throw him out with magic again if he starts yelling or throwing accusations or insults." Hope replied as she started applying the paint to the canvas.


	8. Family Matters

Holidays Are for Family

Chapter 8: Family Matters

Hope didn't know if her mother was going to be able to convince her father to be nice enough to actually talk to and listen to Hope about what was going on with Ryan, but she hoped that if her mother couldn't do it, that Caroline would be able to. As far as Hope knew, they were the only two in her father's life that were able to get him to behave. Hayley because she was his daughter's mother, and Caroline because she was the love of his life. But whomever managed to get his anger under control, at least for the time being, Hope was thankful for. Because when her father came back upstairs, he actually knocked on her bedroom door, and waited for her to let him in before he came in. Neither father nor daughter said anything for a few tense minutes as Klaus paced around the room and Hope continued working on the painting. When Klaus came up behind Hope to see what she was working on, she felt his anger rising and quickly turned to face him.

"He's too old for you, Hope." Klaus commented.

"That is so hypocritical, Dad." Hope shot back. "You're a thousand years older than Caroline, and Mom. How can you think that it's okay for you to be with someone that many years younger than you, but not for me to get to know someone who is that much older than me? This is exactly why Uncle Elijah has allowed Ryan to be around me. Because he refuses to be a hypocrite." She added.

"What do you know about him after such a short time, Hope? And I mean really know about him?" Klaus asked.

"Enough to know that we have similar enough experiences in our lives, that we don't have to hide parts of ourselves away from the other. He was the only one who was able to calm me down the other day when I broke down. Something that neither Uncle Elijah nor Aunt Elena were able to do." Hope replied.

"And the rest of his family?" Klaus questioned.

"His brother's been a jerk since I met him, but Ryan has kept me safe. He's made me feel safe. And cared for. Something that I've been feeling like I'm not getting back home. He makes me happy, Dad. Truly happy." Hope explained. "But I haven't interacted much with his step-mom. But I'm sure that if there was anything of concern, that Elijah and Elena would sense it, and be careful around her." She added before letting out a sigh. "Dad, Ryan and I know that the physical age difference is the biggest concern on everyone's mind. It's the biggest concern on his mind too. All I'm asking and wanting from you is for you to give him a chance to prove himself to you. For you to get to know him."

Klaus ran his hand over his face before he started pacing again, contemplating what his daughter was asking of him. He didn't think any boy would be good enough for Hope, but if he pretended to be open to getting to know the boy, while still in the mindset that he wouldn't be good enough, Klaus knew that Hope would know. Letting out a sigh he sat down on the end of the bed and stared at Hope. Her eyes were wide and pleading, imploring him to give her this. Klaus let out another sigh and relented.

"I will make you a deal, Hope. I will _try_ to be open minded about the two of you getting to know each other, but if at any point between now and when you turn 18, if he does anything, and I do mean _anything_ , that I think or feel puts you in danger, he's out of your life. Do we have a deal?" Klaus said and Hope shook her head.

"I have stipulations." Hope replied.

"I will not be swayed on my condition, Hope." Klaus said sternly.

"If you want me to agree to your deal, then you will hear my stipulations, and you'll accept them. Or else you run the risk of losing me." Hope argued.

"Fine, what are they?" Klaus asked.

"No threats of violence, or insults against Ryan. I really like him, Dad, and it's important to me that you don't hurt him."

"Hope... you are asking me to be someone other than who I've been for 1000 years, you understand that, right?"

"You are willing to try and change who you are, to be a better man, for Caroline, why is it so difficult for you to extend me and Ryan that same curtesy? I'm your daughter. Your own flesh and blood."

Klaus sighed. He knew that Hope was right, but he had always hated admitting when he was wrong. Even to those he loved the most. Especially to those he loved the most. But he had lived the way he had for so long that he wasn't sure how easily he would be able to change. However, if the choices were to change and be able to keep Hope in his life or stay the same and lose the only child he would be able to biologically call his, the choice was an easy one to make. Klaus would do whatever he needed to not lose Hope.

"Okay. I promise to try and be open minded about you and this boy, while not making any threats of violence or insults against him, as long as you agree that if he does anything that I feel puts you in danger, he's out of your life." Klaus agreed.

"Thank you Dad." Hope said with a grateful smile.

"What kind of Supernatural being is he? Elijah mentioned immortality, but not much else. Is he a vampire?" Klaus asked.

"He's a golem, Dad." Hope said.

"A golem? I found you sleeping with a pile of mud this morning?"

"Don't you dare do that, Dad. You literally _just_ promised that you wouldn't insult him!" Hope exclaimed.

"You're right, I'm sorry." Klaus said holding his hands up. "Now tell me why the two of you were sleeping together."

"We weren't sleeping together. We were _asleep_ together. If you had come in here with a level head, you would have noticed that I was laying under the covers while Ryan was on top. And both of us were fully dressed." Hope clarified. "But yesterday had been an emotionally draining day, and he had offered to stay until I fell asleep, he just happened to fall asleep as well. If you don't believe that nothing other than sleeping happened, go ask Uncle Elijah or Aunt Elena." Hope said, daring her father to challenge her on this.

"That won't be necessary, Hope." Klaus said. "But before anything else, I would like us to all sit down together. You, me, your mother and Ryan." He added.

"He was invited over for dinner tonight, so before everyone sits down to eat, we can talk then." Hope replied. "But in the meantime, I need to finish this painting, as it's Ryan's Christmas present, and I'm sure you are well aware, tomorrow is Christmas." She added before turning back towards the canvas and picking up the paint brush.

"Where did you get these art supplies?" Klaus asked.

"From the mansion. You left them behind when you ran off to New Orleans when you found out that there was a plot against you. It was Mom being pregnant with me that the witches were plotting against you, so I didn't think you would mind." Hope replied nonchalantly.

"Hope..." Klaus said warningly. "How many times have I told you not to touch my art supplies?" He asked.

"Oh please, Dad. If you really cared about these, you would have come back for them before I was born. They were collecting dust at the mansion." Hope said with a roll of her eyes.

Klaus clenched his hands into fists at his side. He had no argument against Hope's logic, and it was nice to see her painting again, as he hadn't seen her even touch a paint brush lately, or even hear her talking about this inspiration or that. That was now 2 things that he needed to thank the boy for. Bringing a smile back to his baby girl's face, and for bringing back her artistic spirit. With a tight smile that could really be a grimace, Klaus placed a kiss on the top of Hope's head before heading out of the room. He needed to find the boy that had captured Hope's heart.

 **TVD/TO/Legacies – HAFF – TVD/TO/Legacies**

Ryan was extremely nervous. He was getting curious looks from nearly everyone in Hope's family, all of them wanting to know what this connection was that he had to their niece, and while he didn't blame them, he already didn't feel like he truly had a family, and if Hope's family didn't accept him as part of her life, he didn't know what he would do. And while it seemed, for the most part, that it was Elijah's word that was law, despite him not being the eldest of the siblings, Klaus would have the final say in whether Ryan could still be around Hope. It was something that Ryan didn't want to fathom, living the rest of his immortal life without Hope in it, but if her father ended up not approving, then Ryan would be lost. Doomed to be his idiot little brother's protector until such time came that their father was risen and took over Landon's body; part of a family that didn't fully see him as belonging.

Letting out the breath that he hadn't realized he had been holding, Ryan looked at the necklace in his hands. He had managed to buy it the day before without Hope seeing him, but the butterfly pendant had reminded him so much of Hope that he couldn't pass up the chance to buy it for her. He just hoped that he would have a chance to give it to her. He had fallen so completely for Hope Mikaelson in such a short time that if something happened, and they ended up not being able to be together, he saw no reason for having been released from the darkness by his father. He was just about to head next door to try and drown his potential sorrows when the back door to Elijah and Elena's house opened at the one person that held his and Hope's relationship in their hands stepped out: Klaus.

"Mr. Mikaelson." Ryan said as he tucked the necklace into his pocket.

"What are your intentions with my daughter?" Klaus asked.

"I just want her to be truly happy." Ryan replied.

"And if that ends up _not_ being with you?" Klaus questioned.

"Then I would leave. But with all due respect, Sir, I don't see that being the case. Your brother wouldn't have allowed me to be around Hope if he hadn't seen how happy she is with me." Ryan said.

"She tells me that you are golem."  
"Yes, Sir, but I don't see how that is relevant to whether you will allow us to continue to see each other."

"You are immortal, but not indestructible. Should you break my daughter's heart, I will have no qualms with asking my sister to return you to your former state."

Ryan's face paled and he nodded slowly. If his choices were to either be returned to mud, or returned the void of his father, he would lean towards the former, but neither option was favorable. He had no intention of hurting Hope, but she came from a very large, very protective, and extremely powerful, family, and he didn't see the end of the warnings to not hurt her, or suffer dire consequences, ending any time soon. But on the other hand, he had already been accepted by Elijah and Elena, and Josie and Lizzie seemed to approve of him, and her mother had thanked him for taking care of Hope. Maybe he didn't have as much to worry about as it seemed he did.

"Now that the typical warnings that a father should give the potential suitor of his only daughter have gotten out of the way... I want to thank you." Klaus said, catching Ryan off guard.

"Thank me for what, Sir?" Ryan asked.

"Being there for my daughter, and for being the inspiration for her to start painting again. It has been too long since I've seen her so much as pick up a paint brush, let alone have a brightness to her that ignites her artistic abilities. And for that, you have my gratitude." Klaus explained as he extended his hand which Ryan tentatively took.

"For as long as she allows me to, I have every intention of being by her side and supporting her in everything she sets her mind to. If that means that I am her artistic muse, I'll take it." Ryan said. "May I talk to Hope really quick? I have something I would like to give her."

"You may, but I want us to have an understanding, Ryan... there will be no more spending the night together. If she wishes to spend her days with you, that's fine, but until she turns 18, I will not tolerate the two of you sharing a bed." Klaus said.

"Understood, Sir. And I do want you to know that I hadn't meant to spend the night. She was worn out, emotionally, after my half-brother pulled a couple of horrible stunts out of jealousy, and I only meant to stay until she fell asleep. I underestimated how worn out I was as well and fell asleep just as quickly as Hope did." Ryan explained.

"Thank you for letting me know. I promised my daughter I would keep an open mind, so if you are both saying that nothing happened, then I believe you." Klaus said before he turned around to head inside, holding the door open for Ryan who immediately headed through the kitchen, and up the stairs.

 **TVD/TO/Legacies – HAFF – TVD/TO/Legacies**

Hope felt like she was making progress with the painting. But when she paused to roll her shoulders and massage her neck, her focus on the painting was broken by a knock on the door. Figuring it was someone in her family, Hope didn't bother covering the canvas and stood up to open the door. On the other side of the door stood Ryan, his hands resting on either side of the door frame, and he was bent over as if trying to catch his breath.

"Ryan, what happened? Are you okay?" Hope asked as she immediately lifted his face into her hands.

Instead of responding verbally, Ryan pulled Hope towards him and pressed his lips to hers. Hope responded immediately by standing on her toes and pressing her body against his to deepen it. Ryan walked them fully into the room and closed the door behind them before pinning Hope between himself and the door.

"What happened?" Hope whispered against Ryan's lips. "Is this a goodbye kiss, or..." she trailed off.

"Definitely not a goodbye kiss, Sweetheart." Ryan replied as he pulled the necklace out of his pocket. "I just had a conversation with your father, and it went as well as could be expected. But I wanted to give you this before I actually went home and got things ready for the next couple of days." He said as he held up the necklace.

Hope's breath caught in her throat as her eyes filled with tears. No one outside of her had ever given her a piece of jewelry, and it was absolutely beautiful. Gathering her hair in her hands, Hope lifted her head to look into Ryan's eyes as he clasped the chain around her neck before trailing his finger along her neck and down the chain to where the butterfly pendant rested just above her breasts.

"Absolutely beautiful." Ryan whispered before ducking his head to capture Hope's lips in another kiss.

"Thank you for the necklace, Ryan. I love it." Hope muttered.

"I'm glad. I saw it yesterday, and I couldn't pass up getting it for you when the butterfly reminded me of you." Ryan replied.

"Do you have to go home?" Hope asked. "I could actually get dressed and we could go downstairs and you can officially meet the rest of my family before tonight." She suggested. "Which reminds me, um, my dad wants you, me, him and my mom to sit down and talk before dinner tonight."

"I do still need to wrap your Christmas present, but I don't mind coming back as soon as I'm done to meet everyone." Ryan said.

"I'll take it." Hope replied with a smile.

"By the way... is that a painting of me?" Ryan asked glancing over his shoulder and Hope's eyes went wide.

"Will you freak out if I say 'yes'?"

"When you said that you got your inspiration to paint again, I didn't think that meant that you were painting a picture of me."

"It's a point of view painting. It's how I see you. I hope that's okay."

"It's more than okay, Sweetheart. It's the best gift I've ever gotten from someone."

"I aim to make your holidays better going forward. No matter what happens with the rest of my family, you are my family now, too, Ryan."

Ryan smiled down at Hope before giving her one more lingering kiss. His hands fell to her waist and pulled her in closer, but before it could even get any farther, there was a very obvious set of stomping feet coming from the stairs and Ryan pulled away from Hope. Giving her a smirk, Ryan moved towards her bed and made himself comfortable, leaving Hope to get the door.

"You better be decent, Hope, because I better not be walking in on you making out with a guy right now."

"Uncle Kol... what can I do for you?" Hope asked as she slipped out of her room and into the hallway, closing the door behind her, but not before Kol saw Ryan laying on Hope's bed.

"Your father is going to kill you both Darling." Kol hissed.

"No he won't, because all Ryan was doing giving me this incredibly beautiful necklace." Hope replied in a low voice.

"Let me meet him, and I won't tell Nik that he's in your bed." Kol said with a smirk.

"You are a jackass sometimes, Uncle Kol." Hope muttered. "You're out to get me in trouble, aren't you?"

"Language Hope Andrea."

Hope pulled a face with the use of her middle name. She knew her uncle well enough to know that he really would tell her father that Ryan was in her bed, despite the fact that he wasn't, just to see what mischief he could stir up. With a sigh she let him into her room to find Ryan had moved from her bed to look at what she had done of the painting.

"Ryan, this is my Uncle Kol. Uncle Kol, this is Ryan." Hope said.

"Pleasure." Kol said with a smirk. "Tell me, are you trying to corrupt by favorite niece?" He asked.

"Absolutely not. If anything, it's the other way around." Ryan replied.

"Well, crap." Hope muttered.

Now there were two of them.


	9. Lay It All Out On the Table

Holidays Are for Family

Chapter 9: Lay It All Out On the Table

Hope couldn't handle the amount of ego that the meeting for her uncle and Ryan contained. While Hope herself could be just as cheeky as Kol at times, she hadn't considered what would happen when Ryan met him. Ryan had shown her so much of his vulnerable side, that she had honestly forgotten that he could be a bit arrogant around others. The only plus side to this encounter was that Ryan was easily hitting it off with Kol, and the more of her family members accepted him, the better the chance that her father would eventually accept him as well. Even that didn't happen for another 2 ½ years when she turned 18. So leaving them to their own devices for a few minutes, Hope grabbed a change of clothes and slipped into the bathroom. When she came back into her room, however, Kol had his arm thrown around Ryan's shoulders, and had a wicked grin on his face.

"Whatever you're thinking of doing, Uncle Kol, please, I'm begging you, don't." Hope said slowly.

"Don't worry, Darling. I won't do anything to drastic. I approve of your boyfriend though. He'll fit in perfectly with the family." Kol said and Hope blushed.

"He's not my boyfriend... yet." Hope mumbled, looking away from her uncle and Ryan.

"Nonsense. You two know what you have, to hell with what Nik thinks. It's your life, Darling." Kol said.

"So you're not going to tell Dad that Ryan was 'in my bed'?" Hope asked.

"Of course not. I'm a little hurt that you believed me, Darling. You're my favorite niece."

"I'm your only niece, Uncle Kol."

"Not for long, but you'll still be my favorite even once Nik gets his head out of his ass and puts a ring on Caroline's finger."

Hope grinned at her Uncle and walked over to give him a hug. In the middle of the hug, Ryan had moved to leave the room, but Hope grabbed his hand before he could get too far.

"Okay, now... let's go introduce your boy toy to the rest of the family." Kol said while rubbing his hands together once he pulled away from the hug.

"Please stop, Uncle Kol. I really don't want there to be any threats of violence amongst the family at Christmas. Peace in our family can only last so long when those daggers haven't been destroyed yet. You know it's Dad's crutch." Hope warned.

"What daggers?" Ryan asked, his eyes wide.

"They are silver daggers, dipped in the ashes of a White Oak tree. It's the only thing that can truly desiccate an Original." Hope explained as Kol's eyes darkened.

"Whenever one of us would so much as disagree with Nik, he would put a dagger in our hearts and put us in coffins." Kol added. "Sometimes leaving them in for hundreds of years. Finn was in a coffin for 900 years." He commented.

"Remind me to never piss off your father." Ryan whispered into Hope's ear as he wrapped his arms around her waist from behind and placed a kiss to the top of her head.

"Remember to never piss off my father." Hope replied while turning her head to press her lips to his. "And Uncle Kol, no use of the term 'boyfriend' or 'boy toy'. Especially around Dad." She added, giving her uncle a stern look.

"Okay, fine." Kol replied with a pout.

As Kol headed out of the room and Hope went to follow, Ryan pulled her back and spun her around to face him. Hope gave him a curious look and all Ryan did was look up at the ceiling when Hope had yet to take the excess mistletoe down from.

"I believe it is a Christmas tradition that when two people are caught under the mistletoe, that they are supposed to kiss." Ryan said as he lifted Hope's chin with his finger. "What do you say, Miss Mikaelson? Will you honor or defy tradition?" He asked with his lips a hair's breadth away from hers.

"I think that I would very much like to honor that tradition." Hope replied before closing the distance between them and pressing her lips to Ryan's while wrapping her arms around his neck.

"That's a very pretty dress." Ryan commented against Hope's lips and she smiled.

"Thank you." Hope replied. "We should probably head downstairs. I really don't want Kol to start telling outlandish stories to the rest of the family." She said.

"I won't get to go home to wrap your present until I meet everyone, will I?" Ryan asked.

"No, probably not."

"Hope Andrea Mikaelson, get down here this instant!"

Hope cringed at her father's stern voice. Taking Ryan's hand in hers, Hope took a deep breath and headed towards the stairs. This was so not how she wanted to introduce Ryan to her family. She had hoped she would be able to do it a little at a time, over a period of time. Not all at once when things had already gotten off to a rocky start with how her father had found them that morning. And while she had imagined walking down a set of stairs in a pretty dress with her whole family watching her descend, this was not how she imagined it. Kol was in the back corner as Davina laid in on him for whatever he had said when he had come downstairs, and her father looked absolutely livid.

"Explain, now." Klaus demanded when Hope was halfway down the stairs.

"It would help to know what Uncle Kol said so that I can clarify." Hope replied as she folded her arms across her chest.

"Your Uncle says that he found the two of you in bed together. Again." Klaus asked and Hope turned her sharp gaze on her uncle.

"Incorrect." Hope said. "And I thought that, by now you would have some level of trust in your own daughter, Dad. And if that was too much to ask, that you trusted Elijah and Elena. Did you even plan on letting me stay here, alone, with them for the rest of my Winter Break, or were you always planning on crashing my time with them?" She asked.

"Do not take that tone with me, young lady." Klaus said warningly.

"What tone would you prefer I take, Dad? I'm growing up, and I'm not a little girl anymore. Yes, I might still make mistakes now and then, but all of this, and wanting to be with Ryan isn't one of those. You don't know him; you don't know if you can trust him or not but have some trust in your flesh and blood. I already told you this earlier, and I'll say it again now so that everyone in the family can hear it. If Elijah and Elena had any indication that spending time with Ryan wasn't a good idea for me, they wouldn't have allowed it. They would have sat me down, and respectfully let me know that they had concerns. They would have treated me more like a grown up in one conversation than you ever have. And above all else, it was _**KOL**_ who said he saw us. He's notorious for causing mischief. You've rarely, if ever, believed him before, so why start now? And do you really think that we would do that when we're in a house full of vampires that can hear everything that's going on in the rest of the house?"

"And really Nik, even if they were, you can't really judge. We all bedded 15 year old girls when we were younger." Kol piped up.

"That is not helpful Kol." Freya commented as she backhanded his shoulder.

Hope stared her father down, waiting for him to say or do something. To answer any of the questions that she had thrown at him. But Klaus' face stayed in a hardened mask of anger. The only thing that gave him away to Hope was the emotions flashing in his eyes. And then, without saying anything, he turned around and walked out of the house, followed quickly by Caroline. Only once the front door had slammed shut did Hope let out the breath that she hadn't realized that she was holding. But when she did, tears slid down her cheeks. Ryan had had a hand on her lower back the entire time, but as soon as he felt her trying to hold back the tears, and her body start shaking with the effort, his hands moved to her waist and pulled her against him. The stability of having him there helped calm Hope down, but the tension wasn't leaving her body.

"Hope, Ryan, why don't you two come down and relax?" Elena suggested. "I'm about to make some eggnog, and Elijah is getting some appetizers together for everyone." She added and Hope nodded.

When they walked into the living room, Ryan took a seat in one of the armchairs and Hope sat down in his lap, resting her head on his shoulder. He tried to get her to fully relax by whispering words of comfort into her ear, and while she did relax against him, he could still feel the tension along her spine and in her shoulders. Slowly the Hope's aunts and uncles started talking about what it was like back when they were all human, since Josie and Lizzie had started asking questions, but somehow the conversation ended up circling back to Kol's earlier comment, and a layer of awkwardness fell over the room.

"Why is everyone being so judgy today? Finn, Elijah, neither of you can honestly say that you didn't bed 15 year old's when we were human. It wasn't frowned upon back then. Most of the girls in our village were married by the time they were 15. Nik did too. So all I'm saying is that if Hope and Ryan were to be having sex, it wouldn't be wrong." Kol argued while Davina repeatedly tried to get him to shut up.

"There's a key difference between when we were human, and now, Kol." Finn commented. "For starters, when we were human, we weren't hundreds of years older than those 15 year old's." He said.

"And before you say that Rebekah was bedded at 15, I implore you to remember what Father threatened to do to any young man in our village if they so much as tried to kiss her, let alone get her into their beds." Elijah added when Kol pointed towards their sister.

"Thank you Elijah." Rebekah said with a nod.

"Do we really need to be talking about this?" Hope asked as a blush rose on her cheeks.

"It's quite normal to engage in sex, Hope." Kol replied.

"That's not what I meant..." Hope trailed off before burying her face in Ryan's chest to try and hide how embarrassing this whole thing was.

As the conversation continued around them, Ryan held Hope close and tried to keep a neutral look on his face. In a room full of vampires was sure to draw attention if he showed any signs of recalling the ways in which he had already had Hope moving against him. Instead, he tried to think of other things. Things that didn't involve Hope and sex. The only thing that came to mind was his hatred of being the tossed away son when Landon was the golden boy. Landon who didn't even know why he got everything he wanted. Landon who would sooner or later become the meat puppet for their father. No, that wasn't helping. That made him glad. Other things that pissed him off. Landon and his foolish attempts at winning Hope's favor; ones that had almost physically hurt Hope; ones that had actually emotionally wore Hope out. Landon making a move on Hope when she clearly wasn't interested. Landon... moving... Hope was moving in his lap.

"Hope, Sweetheart, stop moving." Ryan murmured in her ear.

"Okay everyone, that's enough. We are clearly making Ryan uncomfortable. So let's change the conversation." Elena said, eyeing Hope and Ryan as the latter held the former's hips still.

"Where are we going to celebrate Christmas tomorrow? No offense to you and my brother, but this place is not suitable for this many people." Rebekah questioned.

"Well, Elijah has been making sure that the maintenance has been kept up to date on with the mansion, we could have it there." Elena said.

"Really? The town hasn't demolished that place yet?" Kol asked.

"No, Kol, they haven't because it's not technically abandoned." Elijah replied.

"Then it's settled. The guys can all go over there today to get it ready for Christmas, and all of you can stay there, and the girls can go out and do some Christmas shopping." Rebekah said.

"Will someone please go get Niklaus and Miss Forbes? Elena and I have something that we would like to share with the family." Elijah said.

Josie and Lizzie jumped up from their seats and hurried outside to get their mom. As every else started making idle chatter, Ryan used the distraction to discreetly reposition Hope on his lap. And with blush on her cheeks having mostly gone away, Hope moved her head back to Ryan's shoulder and pressed her lips to his neck.

"Hope, Sweetheart, please stop." Ryan breathed out as he turned his head to look at her and pressed a kiss to her forehead.

"You are no fun." Hope muttered.

"I can be plenty fun... just not with your entire family around." He replied.

"Okay, we're here, what's the bloody news?" Klaus growled and Hope tensed in Ryan's arms.

"As you know, Niklaus, Elena and I have been making sure the mansion that you so painstakingly renovated all those years ago doesn't become decrepit. Over the years, we have discussed, in great detail, I might add, the idea of converting it into a school for the Supernatural. We wanted you all to know that we are moving forward with that plan. Ryan and I have gone over every inch of the house and have taken extensive notes as to what would need to change to make it suitable to become a boarding school, but Elena and I would appreciate all of your help and support in this endeavor." Elijah explained.

"You're bloody joking." Klaus said.

"No, Klaus, he isn't." Elena responded with a glare.

"I relented to you on the doppelgänger, but the mansion is off limits." Klaus growled.

"What is your problem, Dad? Uncle Elijah and Aunt Elena are trying to create a school that could have helped me, and the twins, while we were growing up. The best place to do that is the mansion." Hope inquired.

"Stay out of this, Hope." Klaus snapped.

"I'm warning you, Niklaus, hold your tongue." Elijah said sternly. "Hope has every right to be a part of this conversation, as do Lizzie and Josie. As they will be the first 3 students enrolled in the school once it is ready to be opened. And you no longer have a say in what happens to the mansion, as it is no longer in your name." He continued. "Now if you do not apologize to your daughter, to Ryan, and to Elena this instant, I will forcibly remove you from this house."

The two brothers stared each other down, and Hope was surprised when her father gave in. His mumbled apologized gained some pursed lips from Elena and Elijah, but neither Hope nor Ryan were ready to forgive him just yet.

"Now, as Rebekah suggested, the men are to go to the mansion to get it ready for tomorrow, while the women go shopping." Elijah instructed and everyone started moving about the living room.

"You all go ahead. Klaus, Hope, Ryan and I will meet up with everyone in a little bit." Hayley said to Jackson when none of them moved, albeit for different reasons.

Once everyone else had cleared out of the house, Hayley pulled Klaus over to the couch and forced him to sit down before she sat down herself and turned to Hope and Ryan.

"Don't look at us, Mom, Dad was the one who said you guys wanted to sit down and talk." Hope said.

"And we do, but you've been attached to Ryan since you came downstairs, and I want to know what happened that made you no longer feel safe around me and your father." Hayley replied.

"It's not that I don't feel safe, Mom." Hope said with a sigh.

"Then what is it?" Hayley asked. "You used to tell us everything growing up, what changed?"

"My childhood was nothing close to what anyone can call or deem 'normal'. The witches were afraid of me, and children vampires would have caused a lot of issues. And Henry was pretty much the only other young werewolf in the pack. You kept me away from everyone and everything. If I wasn't being confined to the compound, then I was being ushered off to the Bayou, and then kept inside at Jackson's grandma's cabin. I did everything that you two asked of me. But when Dad went on that killing spree from when I was 7 to when I was 9... I astral projected myself to where he was because I missed him. He was a monster wearing Dad's face, and he yelled at me to get out." Hope explained before wiping the tears away from her face. "After that, I felt like I had to walk on eggshells all the time. I feared that despite his claims to love me, that if I made one miniscule mistake, that he would turn back into that monster that I had seen. And then everything just kept building up to the party the other night. I felt like I was absolutely alone, but that solitude was suffocating me. You both seemed so happy without me around, that I started to question if you ever loved me at all, or if you were just loving me because it was convenient, but as soon as someone better came along, you didn't need to love me anymore." She added, using Ryan's presence to continue explaining how she felt about everything to them. "So when Uncle Elijah offered to let me stay here with him and Elena for the rest of Winter Break, I didn't have to really think twice about it. I needed to get out of New Orleans. I needed to be somewhere that I didn't feel like I didn't belong. And then we got here, and I met Ryan. I didn't expect to develop such strong feelings for him, or anyone, when I took Uncle Elijah up on his offer, but I did. I finally felt like I could breathe and be myself. I finally felt like I didn't have to worry about what I said, or did, because Ryan just understands me, and I understand him." She continued.

"Hope..." Klaus started.

"I'm not done, Dad." Hope cut him off. "And yes, there is both a physical and chronological age difference between Ryan and I, but we've stopped ourselves from doing anything that we shouldn't be doing. We have accepted the fact that we will have to keep our relationship to ourselves until I turn 18, and we are willing to give it a shot. But what hurts me the most is the severe lack of trust that Dad has for me. After doing everything that was ever asked of me growing up, I should have earned that by now, but it's clear after today's chain of events that I haven't."

"Are you done?" Hayley asked softly.

"For now, yes." Hope replied, turning into Ryan.

"Hope, honey, loving you has never been out of simple convenience. You are our daughter, and we love you unconditionally, not matter who else we have in our lives. And no one else will ever be able to change that." Hayley said.

"You say that, Mom, but everything that has happened over the last few years has proven just the opposite." Hope replied bitterly.

"Everything that we've ever done has been to keep me safe, Hope, you have to understand that." Klaus said.

"That's a crap answer, Dad." Hope said. "And no, I'm not going to watch my language. You don't respond to anything other than anger. And for the record, disappearing for 2 years of my childhood to go on a murder spree, is not something that kept me safe. What I needed was both of my parents. And now I've found someone that makes me truly happy, and you had to show up and ruin it." She added. "I can't be relaxed when I'm scared that at any second you're going to fly off the handle for any perceived wrongdoing against you."

"I almost lost you, Hope. The Hollow nearly destroyed you, and even though we vanquished it, I didn't feel better. I needed to get my aggressions out, but I didn't want you see that side of me, so I left." Klaus tried to explain.

"So after almost losing me to the Hollow, you thought of what you needed, instead of what I needed? How very fatherly of you. Abandoning your scared 7 year old daughter for your own selfish gains." Hope snapped with a roll of her eyes.

"I didn't want to put you through physical pain!" Klaus explained.

"News flash for you, Dad. Emotional pain leaves a lasting impression. So you leaving to try and keep me from getting physically hurt left me a lingering emotional pain. I can't be in the same room as you without being a little bit tense. And no one should feel that way about their father."

"We're done here." Klaus said as he stood up quickly.

"Sit down, Klaus, now." Hayley growled. "We are not done here." She added. "Ryan... do you agree with Hope's earlier statement that you are willing to give a relationship with her a shot?" She asked.

"I do. I was created with one purpose. To try and carry on my father's bloodline, but all of his creations turned out to be sterile. When he found that out, he cast me aside. I tried forming connections with people, tried to make relationships work, but I felt nothing with any of them. With Hope, it's different. I want to be with her. I want to protect her. And if she'll let me, once we've gotten to that stage, I want to be the one that loves her unconditionally. Your daughter is very strong willed and a bit hard-headed, but she knows what she wants, and she has told me that she wants to be with me. And I plan to spend every day of the rest of my life trying to be worthy of her love and devotion." Ryan explained.

"Hope mentioned that you have gone through some similar experiences." Hayley stated.

"My father, Malivore, he was created by a witch, a vampire and a werewolf. They created him to consume the magical creatures that were terrorizing humans. But the magic that they used to create him with caused anything, and anyone, that was consumed by him to be erased from the collective conscious. But he made a deal with the humans that he was created to protect. And when his creators went to return him to his original form, the humans stopped them. He went on as long as he could, trying to create others like him, but none of his own creations had his powers, and none of us could carry on his bloodline. When he cast me aside, I turned on him, and had a coven of witches use dark magic to return him to as close to his original state as possible." Ryan replied. "He was furious that I had betrayed him. But as the years continued to go on, a secret agency that was named Triad came into being. They built their facility around the pit that my father is currently, but their mission became twisted over time." He continued.

"They started throwing humans that disagreed with their methods into the pit as well. And with each creature or being that Malivore consumed, he absorbed their DNA. Eventually, Ryan's step-mom, Seylah, was working for Triad as a monster hunter. When the monsters were tossed into the pit, she would lose the memory of them. They eventually turned on her and threw her in as well." Hope took over.

"My father took pity on her. He took a liking to her. We still aren't entirely sure how, but the unknown number of humans that were tossed in, my father was able to get Seylah pregnant with my half-brother, Landon. After impregnating her, my father expelled Seylah from the void that is being inside of him, and shortly after that, he expelled me as well. When I had realized what Triad was doing, I returned to my father to beg for forgiveness. And he left me alone in the darkness. His favorite past time is to torture me. And my torture for the last 15 years has been as Landon's "protector". Seylah refers to me as her step-son, but she doesn't actually accept me as family. She knows that mine and Landon's father wants Landon alive until such a time as he can rise, but she doesn't know what he actually intends to do with Landon." Ryan said. "My life has been one bleak experience after another. And then I met your daughter the other day, and for the first time, I a purpose for my life." He added before taking Hope's hand in his and kissing the back of it.

"You mentioned your brother's antics earlier. What exactly has he done?" Klaus asked.

"Been an all around jerk since I met him." Hope muttered.

"The two worst ones both happened yesterday. Hope was helping Elijah hang the Christmas lights outside, and she was reaching to the right past the ladder, and Landon purposefully knocked it, wanting to catch her, but he wasn't paying attention to which way she was leaning, and she fell in the opposite direction from where he was standing." Ryan explained.

"Luckily Ryan was there to catch me, since he was coming to get me so that we could head into town and get some last minute Christmas presents." Hope said with a smile.

"Then Landon called the Sheriff and claimed that I was harassing Hope." Ryan said.

"Ryan intends on teaching Landon a lesson for trying to mess with what we have in a misguided attempt to win my favor." Hope said. "We just happened to fall asleep due to emotional exhaustion before he could head home and do so. And today has just been one thing after another with the family just appearing without warning." She added.

"Back up a moment. Your brother _purposefully_ knocked a ladder that Hope was standing on, and if it hadn't been for you, she would have been seriously hurt?" Hayley asked.

"Yes." Ryan said slowly.

"Where is he? We'll help you teach him a lesson." Klaus said with a low growl coming from the back of his throat.


	10. Emotions Run Deep

Holidays Are for Family

Chapter 10: Emotions Run Deep

Hope was on her feet and blocking the front door faster than she knew she was capable of. Yes, she despised Landon for what he had done, but she didn't want anything to happen to Ryan if something happened to Landon. Staring her father down, Hope dared him to try and move her out of the way.

"Hope, why are you protecting a boy that you clearly don't like? Move out of the way so that we can help Ryan show him who he's messing with." Klaus said.

"You're right Dad, I don't like Landon. But I do like Ryan, and I wouldn't be able to live with myself if something happened to him because I didn't stop you and Mom from maiming Landon. So believe me when I say, this isn't me protecting Landon. This is me protecting Ryan." Hope said before her eyes shifted to Ryan. "I will not lose you so soon after we found each other."

"Then what would you have us do, Sweetheart?" Ryan asked, before his eyes went wide when Klaus turned to glare at him.

"Dad, don't." Hope warned. "Don't teach him a lesson, just tell him the truth, whether Seylah likes it or not." She said turning back to Ryan. "Tell her you're done being Landon's protector." She added.

"If I tell her that, she'll cast me out. I'll have nowhere to go, Hope." Ryan said.

"Yes you will. I told you, Ryan, you're my family now too. And I'm sure Elijah and Elena would be okay with you taking the other room upstairs." Hope replied as she closed the distance between them and laced their fingers together.

Ryan searched Hope's eyes for wavering on her declaration but found none. With a nod he pulled her in for a hug and pressed a kiss to the top of her head. And for the first time since her entire family had arrived that morning, Ryan felt the tension leave Hope's body as she fully relaxed into his embrace. He saw Klaus and Hayley share a glance, but he ignored it. Hope was in his arms, and her father wasn't trying to pull them apart. If that wasn't getting things onto the right path towards Klaus accepting him, then Ryan didn't know what else there could be.

"Okay, that's enough." Klaus commented a minute later as he uncharacteristically shifted uncomfortably from one foot to the next while his hands twitched at his sides.

"Dad..." Hope said slowly.

"It's going to take me some time to get at least a little bit used to seeing another man hugging you that isn't blood." Klaus said. "But I am truly sorry for how I acted earlier this morning. I do trust you Hope, I do. There has just been so many people in my life that I've made enemies of, that I don't want an unknown enemy using you to get to me." He apologized and Hope nodded.

"There is one more thing about my father that you should both know; which Elijah and Elena have already been made aware of." Ryan said looking from Klaus to Hayley.

"And what would that be?" Hayley asked.

"Since he was created with the blood of a witch, a werewolf and a vampire, the only way to destroy him would be of blood from all three. With Hope already having the blood of all three, she could be the one that is meant to destroy him. But that would only be after he rises. If not Hope, which I really don't want it to be her, then we would have to try and find direct descendants of the original Triad. But that becomes trickier where the vampire is concerned." Ryan explained.

"Meaning?" Klaus asked.

"Meaning I don't know if it would have to be a descendant born from his bloodline before he was turned, or a Vampire from his sire line. And we would only have one chance to get it right." Ryan said.

"Then we include the whole family. We will figure out which it would have to be, and then we will be ready. If there is a threat against one member of this family, then it's a threat against the entire family." Klaus said, looking directly at Ryan.

"Ryan, would you be okay with the family knowing about Malivore being your father, or would you prefer we keep that out of everything?" Hayley asked.

"If possible, I would prefer to keep him being my father out of it." Ryan said with a grimace. "Other than Seylah needing to know that Malivore is my creator, as well as Landon's father, Hope was the only one I was fully comfortable telling that to, so if as few people know the full truth, the better I would feel." He added.

"Then we'll keep that to ourselves." Hayley said with a nod. "But we should all get going. I doubt everyone else waited outside for us." She added.

 **TVD/TO/Legacies – HAFF – TVD/TO/Legacies**

While Hayley and Hope caught up with Rebekah, Freya, Caroline, the twins, Davina, Sage and Keelin, Ryan and Klaus headed next door to inform Landon of the truth of his existence. But as soon as Seylah saw Klaus standing on the porch, she refused to invite him in. Ryan didn't let that deter him, though as he stepped inside and immediately went upstairs to bring Landon down. When he returned, leading Landon with a firm hand on the back of Landon's neck, Ryan had a smirk on his face.

"Landon, this is Hope's father. And he's much more upset with your antics yesterday than I am." Ryan said as he pushed his brother over the threshold and onto the patio.

"Ryan, you don't have to do this." Seylah said quickly.

"It's time he knows the truth, Seylah. You can't keep it from him forever, because sooner or later, Malivore will rise, and he will come for Landon." Ryan said.

"Is that Dad's name? It's a bit odd, but it's cool, too." Landon said excitedly.

"It's Latin, for Eater of the Dark." Klaus commented.

"Awesome." Landon said.

"No, Landon, it's not awesome." Seylah chided her son. "It's horrible."

"What do you mean? If you slept with him, he couldn't have been that horrible." Landon said.

"God, you are so naïve, Landon. Seylah didn't 'sleep' with Malivore. He is a pit that consumes everything and everyone that is thrown into him. He took pity on her when she was betrayed by her former employers, and he impregnated you. In his true form, he's a golem. Do you know what a golem is, Landon?" Ryan asked.

"Ryan, please, let's take this conversation inside." Seylah pleaded as she glanced around.

"No, we're having this conversation here. Unless you want to invite Klaus inside..." Ryan trailed off.

"Fine. But make it quick." Seylah relented.

"The only reason you are allowed to live, Landon, is because Daddy Dearest needs you alive. Once he rises, and he comes for you, it's to use you as a meat puppet. He needed a creation that could continue his bloodline. He took pity on Seylah, because she was human, but he impregnated her so that she would birth a child that could continue the bloodline." Ryan explained.

"No thanks, not interested." Landon said.

"You won't have a choice. Malivore will take over your body whether you want him to or not." Ryan said.

"You told me that he spit you out so that you could protect Landon." Seylah accused.

"Because that was the truth... just not all of it." Ryan said. "I was tasked with protecting Landon long enough for Father to rise. But I'm done doing that. You're on your own with keep him alive for Father." He added.

"Now that we've gotten that out of the way..." Klaus said, turning to Landon. "I hear you've been hurting my daughter." He added.

"I haven't done anything to Hope!" Landon exclaimed, trying to get back into the house, only for Ryan to block his path.

"Purposefully knocking the ladder that she was standing on, causing her to fall. Calling Sheriff Donovan and claiming that Ryan has been harassing Hope? You didn't do those things? Because I believe my daughter more than I believe you." Klaus said.

"Ryan's a manipulator. I was just trying to get her to see that he isn't right for her." Landon argued.

"That is not why you've been being a dick to her, Little Brother." Ryan commented. "You're jealous that she likes me and not you. You who has gotten everything that you've ever wanted, can't have the one girl that you want, and that pisses you off. So you're trying to sabotage what I have with her. Do you really think that after the way you've treated her over the last few days that she would ever go for you if things ended up not working out with me?" Ryan asked.

"She'd be better off without you!" Landon shouted.

"Now, see, that's not your decision to make. And even as her father, that's not my decision to make. But as her father, it is my responsibility to look out for Hope's happiness. And she is happy with Ryan. So if I hear of one more incident where you have tried to ruin that happiness, you and I will be having a very different conversation." Klaus said.

Landon had the good sense, in that moment, to actually look scared. Klaus smirked at the kid in front of him before glancing at Ryan. He saw a little bit of himself in Ryan, and while that concerned him, he knew that Hope loved him in spite of the darkness that had consumed the last 1000 years of his existence, and if she could love him, then Klaus knew that it was only a matter of time before she realized that she loved Ryan as well. He both looked forward to, and dreaded, that day. But if Ryan continued to protect Hope and keep her happy, then Klaus would welcome Ryan into the family with open arms.

"I want you out of my house." Seylah said, anger flashing in her eyes as she glared at Ryan.

"Not a problem. It's not like I was ever truly welcome anyway. And it's a good thing I don't have much that's mine." Ryan replied. "I'll just get my stuff and be on my way." He said.

Once Ryan returned with his stuff, which consisted of a duffle bag and a guitar case, Klaus nodded to Seylah and Landon and then he and Ryan left. As the drove towards the mansion, Ryan clenched his hands into fists. He hated that he cared about what he had just done. And he honestly felt like he was going to break. Klaus seemed to sense what Ryan was thinking and turned the car around, driving towards town instead of towards the mansion. They were halfway between Elijah and Elena's house and town when Klaus saw Hayley and Hope ahead and pulled over.

"Go." Klaus said, nodding towards Hope. "You look like you need my daughter as much as she needs you."

Ryan nodded and got out of the car, jogging the short distance to where Hayley and Hope had stopped walking. As soon as they locked eyes, Ryan's mask broke, and Hope ran to him. As soon as she reached him, Hope captured Ryan's face in her hands and pressed her lips to his in a quick kiss before wrapping her arms around him in a tight hug. Pulling away from the hug, Hope looked up at Ryan with questioning eyes.

"As I thought she would, Seylah kicked me out. And the worst part is that it actually hurts knowing that she doesn't see me as family. I figured she didn't, as I don't share her blood like Landon does, but knowing for a fact that I've been cast out by my father, and the only mother figure that I've ever known, it hurts more than I thought it would." Ryan explained.

"Hey, you are not in this alone, Ryan. I'm here. And you have my family." Hope said softly. "We can help you get through this. You're stuck with me, remember?" She added, giving him another quick kiss.

Klaus turned off the car and walked over to Hayley.

"What should we do?" He asked.

"Allow them to go back to Elijah and Elena's house. They need each other, but can't risk being seen around town together, and if Hope goes with you to the mansion, Kol will be too busy making jokes at their expanse to actually help get everything ready for tomorrow. We need to trust her, trust him, that they won't take advantage of an empty house." Hayley said.

"I'll follow your lead on this, Little Wolf." Klaus said.

"Hope, Ryan, go back to Elijah and Elena's house. Spend the day alone together and just relax. Your father and I will let everyone know that you two needed time alone after everything that happened this morning." Hayley said.

"Really?" Hope asked looking between her parents.

"Yes, Hope, really. You said that you and Ryan understand each other in ways that no one else does. And right now, you both need that. So go back to your Uncle's house. We'll see you at dinner." Klaus said as he pressed a kiss to Hope's forehead.

"Thank you." Hope whispered, giving each of her parents a hug before taking Ryan's hand in hers and leading him back home.

"That was a good call, Little Wolf." Klaus said with a small smile.

"Anything that leads to our little girl being happy is a good call, Klaus." Hayley commented. "Now... are you going to give me a ride the rest of the way into town to meet up with the girls, or are you going to force me to walk the rest of the way?" She asked.

"Get in." Klaus said.

 **TVD/TO/Legacies – HAFF – TVD/TO/Legacies**

When Hope and Ryan got back to the house, they took a second to appreciate having the place to themselves, even for just a few hours. After taking a deep breath, Hope led Ryan upstairs to her room, and to the bed. Once he had gotten comfortable, Hope laid down and rested her head on his chest with his arm coming to rest around her shoulders while his other hand took hold of hers. Repeating the action from that morning, Ryan brought Hope's hand up to his lips and pressed a kiss to her inner wrist before resting their joined hands on his chest.

"Hope?" Ryan asked slowly.

"Yes Ryan?"

"I really don't want to mess this up." Ryan admitted.

"I have faith that you won't." Hope replied.

"What if that isn't enough? What if our feelings for each other get to be too much, and I start to break? I don't want to hurt you, and I can't lose you, Hope."

Hope sat up and moved to straddle Ryan's lap. Pulling him to sit up as well, Hope draped her arms over Ryan's shoulders and pressed her lips to his in a deep kiss. Pressing her body closer to his, Hope ran one hand down Ryan's chest and slowly started undoing the buttons on his shirt while the other hand cradled the back of his head. When she got to the last button just above his pants, Ryan lightly gripped Hope's wrist to stop her.

"We can't, Hope." Ryan whispered.

"This isn't about sex, Ryan. Just... trust me?" Hope asked while biting her lower lip.

"What do you have in mind?" Ryan questioned.

Ryan wasn't sure what he had expected Hope to do, but what she was doing wasn't it. She had conjured up a massage table, and some oils and after successfully getting him out of his shirt, and she started to give him a massage. It became evident very quickly that Hope hadn't been the only one that had been tense that day, as Ryan's muscles were rigid under Hope's hands when she started working at them. Once she had massaged away all of the stiff muscles in Ryan's back, Hope had him turn over before climbing on top of him and placing her hands on his chest. Leaning down, Hope pressed her lips to Ryan's and swiped her tongue along his bottom lip, seeking an entrance that Ryan immediately granted.

Ryan pulled Hope down even more on top of him, needing to feel her as close as possible. His hands ran over her sides and back, before tentatively resting on her ass and pausing for a moment to gauge her reaction. When she didn't push him away or slap him, Ryan took it as a good sign that he could continue, but before he could, Hope broke the kiss and sat up. Reaching behind her, Hope lowered the zipper of her dress before pulling it off of her body, leaving her in just a bra and underwear on top of Ryan. _'I'm going to be in so much trouble.'_ Ryan thought as he watched her carefully.

"Hope, Sweetheart, maybe we should slow down." Ryan said softly as he lightly gripped her hips.

"You... you don't like it?" Hope asked, her eyes filling with tears that she quickly started to blink away.

"Just the opposite, but Hope, the main reason that we kept stopping the other day is still true now. You're only 15." Ryan replied while rubbing her sides with his thumbs. "Believe me, Hope, all I want to do right now is toss you onto that bed and have my way with you, but I'm trying to do the responsible thing by stopping this before it gets too far too soon." He added. "I don't want you to feel like we have to have sex right away to get me to stay. I want to be the one that you give yourself to, but only once you're truly ready." He said before sitting up and wrapping his arms around her.

Hope nodded against Ryan's shoulder as the tears that she had tried to blink away came back and silently started falling. If Ryan felt them against his skin, he didn't say anything, just kissed the top of her head before moving them to the bed and laying down in the position that they had been in earlier. Once Hope was securely snuggled into his side, with his arm around her shoulders, and his other hand intertwined with hers, Ryan felt better.

"Ryan... I... I know that this is probably too soon, but I want you to know that I think my feelings for you have gone beyond just 'like' and 'infatuation'... and are getting very close to something more. And if you're needing to talk about what all happened with Seylah and Landon, then I don't mind listening." Hope said slowly. "I want to listen. I want to help in any way that I can."

"Hope, are you absolutely sure that you want to be with me?" Ryan asked. "Down the road, if you want to have kids, I won't be able to give you that."

"Lets start by me saying that I'm not even sure if _I_ can have kids of my own, let alone if I want to have kids myself. So you not being able to have kids is not a deal breaker for me, Ryan. But what is this really about?" Hope questioned.

"That's just it, Hope, telling the Landon the truth... it just reinforced the fact that I'm a failure. That I can't give you a full life. I would constantly be thinking that I'm not good enough for you; that you would be better off with someone else who has the potential to give you a family." Ryan explained with a sigh. "I've been seen as a disappointment since I was created, Hope, I never want to disappoint you too."

"Ryan, you're not a failure. And you could never disappoint me because you can't have kids. When the time comes that we are ready to talk about starting a family, we can look into alternative methods. But we don't have to worry about all of that right now." Hope said as she looked up at him.

Ryan leaned down and pressed a kiss to Hope's forehead before resting his head on the top of hers. He closed his eyes and let out a sigh. Here, in this very moment, with Hope in his arms, he felt truly happy. And he could actually see a future that wasn't the same bleakness that he had lived since he been created. Pulling Hope on top of him, Ryan pulled her in for a kiss. He wanted to tell her how I felt, but he didn't want to scare her off, or give her family a reason to doubt his intentions for Hope. So instead he would just keep kissing her whenever he had the chance to. The last thought that crossed Ryan's mind before he let sleep over come him was, _'I love you, Hope'_.

 **TVD/TO/Legacies – HAFF – TVD/TO/Legacies**

Hope didn't remember falling asleep, but when she opened her eyes, she knew that at least a few hours had passed, and she was still close to naked, laying on top of Ryan who was still missing his shirt. Seeing that Ryan was also asleep, Hope gently moved off of him, pressing a kiss to his temple, and grabbed his shirt. It probably wasn't a good idea for her to be wearing his shirt while her dress was on the floor, and Ryan was asleep in her bed, but in that moment, Hope didn't care. He needed sleep, and she didn't feel like putting her dress back on. Once she had slipped her arms through the material and rolled the sleeves up, Hope sat down at the easel and got to work on finishing the painting.

It was maybe another hour later that Ryan woke up to an empty bed and feeling especially cold where Hope had been laying on top of him. Sitting up quickly, Ryan looked for Hope, thinking she had left, but when he saw her sitting at the easel, finishing the painting, wearing his shirt, he let out a sigh of relief. Getting up, Ryan grabbed the chair from the desk and moved to sit behind Hope, wrapping his arms around her waist and pressing a kiss to her shoulder.

"I could get used to waking up and seeing you wearing my shirt." Ryan muttered into Hope's ear as he rested his chin on her shoulder. "It looks amazing, Sweetheart."

"Like I said, it's how I see you." Hope replied as she leaned back into Ryan's embrace. "How are you feeling?" She asked.

"Like I'm the luckiest guy in the world to have such an amazing girl who cares so deeply for me in my life." Ryan replied as he started pressing kisses to Hope's neck.

Hope turned around in her seat and moved to sit in Ryan's lap.

"I more than just care about you, Ryan. I am yours, whole heartedly." Hope said before pressing her lips to Ryan's.

"You are determined to get me to break, aren't you?" Ryan asked as he ran his hands up Hope's thighs and under his shirt to skim his fingers along her ribs.

"Not... intentionally..." Hope breathed out.

"While I don't believe that for a second, I'm not going to challenge you on it." Ryan said with a smirk. "And as much as I love seeing you in my shirt, Sweetheart, you might want to give it back and put your dress back on before your family comes home." He added before slowly pushing the sides of the shirt open and pressing a kiss to her chest above her heart.

"Ryan..." Hope murmured as her breathing picked up.

"Hmmm?" He hummed against her.

"Stop teasing." She said before biting her lower lip to keep herself from moaning.

"Oh, this isn't me teasing you, Sweetheart." He commented. "When I'm teasing you, you'll know it." He added before pulling away from her chest and pulling her in for a kiss while pushing the shirt off of her shoulders.

Hope pressed herself as close to Ryan's body as she could to deepen the kiss. He had managed to get his shirt off of her, and his hands were running up along her spine. When he undid her bra, however, she let out a surprised gasp, and Ryan used the chance to slip his tongue into her mouth. Ryan lifted Hope into his arms and carried her to the bed before laying her down and pressing his body down on top of hers.

"Ryan... Ryan... RYAN!"

Ryan sat up and glanced at Hope. A look of worry dominated her usually soft features and Ryan took a deep breath before letting it out and pulling Hope in for a hug. He kissed her forehead and murmured that everything was okay. That he was just having a dream. _'A really good dream. And I'm totally screwed if I mess things up with you.'_ Ryan thought.


	11. T'was the Night Before Christmas

Holidays Are for Family

Chapter 11: T'was the Night Before Christmas

Once they were both 100% sure that the other was okay, Hope and Ryan got out of bed and got dressed. As he was buttoning his shirt back up, Ryan glanced over at the canvas and saw that Hope had, in fact, been awake since well before she shook him awake, and had mostly finished the painting. When Hope walked over to him and turned her back to him, silently asking him to zip up her dress, Ryan obliged and pressed a kiss to her shoulder once he was done.

"You look absolutely beautiful, Hope." Ryan whispered. "I am the luckiest guy in the world that I have you as my date for Christmas."

"I'm the lucky one, Ryan." Hope breathed out as she leaned back against him.

"HOPE, we're back."

Hayley's voice carried up the stairs and Hope let out a sigh. She knew that their alone time was going to be coming to an end soon, but it just hadn't seemed like enough time. But they had to take what they got, and they had gotten a few good hours alone together. And Ryan seemed to be doing better than he had been when her parents had sent them home. So while she was minutely disappointed, she was mostly grateful for the time that she had gotten with Ryan. With a quick kiss, Hope took Ryan's hand in hers and led him downstairs where her mom, her aunts, her sisters and Caroline were all waiting.

"Hayley, you didn't say anything about Ryan being here too." Freya commented sternly.

"My daughter, my decision. Klaus backed me on it, and I'm sure if Elijah and Elena weren't okay with Ryan being in their house, they wouldn't have allowed him to come inside in the first place. They needed time alone." Hayley said with a shrug.

"How was shopping?" Hope asked as she skipped down the rest of the stairs and gave her mom a hug.

"It was okay. You know me, baby girl, I'm not a huge shopper. But your Aunt got you something for tomorrow. Since your father called while we were out and said that tomorrow is going to be a formal Christmas." Hayley said and Hope turned towards Rebekah.

"And we got something for you as well, Ryan." Rebekah said. "I wasn't sure about your size, but your just slightly taller than Kol, so I hope it fits." She added. "And it just wouldn't do for Hope's boyfriend to not have something that matches what she'll be wearing tomorrow." She said with a wink.

"Auntie Bex, he's not my boyfriend yet." Hope said giving her aunt a quick glare before going back to opening the box that she had been handed.

"Oh please. We all see it. Even Nik. He's just denying it. Hayley, tell your daughter that Ryan is her boyfriend." Rebekah said with a roll of her eyes.

"That's not happening Bex. Hope isn't ready for that to be the status of their relationship, and as her family, we should respect that decision. Especially since it's no one's decision but Hope's and Ryan's." Hayley argued.

Rebekah held her hands up in surrender while turning her gaze onto her niece as Hope finished opening the box and pulled out a maroon colored dress. While the collar was an off the shoulder design, there were still straps to it, and Hope could feel tears coming quickly so she shook her head slightly and blinked them away. Draping the dress over the back of the couch, Hope walked around and hugged her aunt.

"Thank you, Auntie Bex. I love it." Hope whispered.

"You're welcome, Darling." Rebekah replied before turning her gaze to Ryan who looked unsure if he should actually open the box he had been handed. "If you don't open it, then you won't have something suitable for a Mikaelson Family Christmas. So I would suggest you open it. You are as good as family now that you've ensnared the desires of our niece."

Ryan nodded slowly before removing the lid. Inside sat a neatly folded tux and a tie that was the exact same color of Hope's dress. With a genuine smile he silently thanked Rebekah for the gift. As everyone else got settled into the living room to talk, Hope carried her dress upstairs, followed by her mother and Elena. It was only at the last second before entering her room that Hope remembered she hadn't gotten rid of the massage table that she had conjured and spun around to face Hayley and Elena.

"So... um, before we go in... I should probably let you know that I conjured a massage table to give Ryan a massage, since he was tense, and it's still in there... so please don't freak out or jump to conclusions like Dad would." Hope begged.

"We aren't your father, Hope." Elena commented.

Hope nodded and let them into her room, moving to hang the dress up on the bathroom door. Upon turning around, she found her mother and aunt staring at her while sitting on the bed.

"What?" Hope asked, looking between the two.

"You're mom told me about what happened between Ryan and Seylah and Landon. And while I still need to talk to Elijah, I'm sure he'll agree that it's okay for Ryan to stay in the other room. However, I was also informed that your father and Ryan made an agreement that there are to be no more sleepovers between you and Ryan, so at least one bathroom door between the two rooms needs to be shut." Elena said.

"We can do that." Hope nodded before moving to wrap her arms around her aunt's neck. "Thank you, Aunt Elena. That means so much to me, and I'm sure Ryan will appreciate it as well."

"You're welcome. Now, we should probably go save him from the rest of the family, because we sort of left him to his own devices with Rebekah." Elena said.

"Oh crap and butterflies." Hope muttered before she flew out of her room and down the stairs.

"'Oh crap and butterflies'?" Hayley questioned.

"She's your daughter, Hayley." Elena said with a shrug. "Yours and Klaus'."

By the time Hope got downstairs and was by Ryan's side, Josie and Lizzie had already taken up spots in front of him, acting as his bodyguards against the other women. Hope gave them a grateful smile while wrapping her arms around Ryan's waist, and Ryan sighed in relief before kissing the top of her head.

"Please don't leave me alone with the women in your family again. It's a little terrifying." Ryan muttered and Hope snickered.

"Sorry." She whispered back. "Okay everyone, please, just leave Ryan alone." She said.

"Hope, Ryan, we wanna talk." Lizzie said as she and Josie each linked an arm with Ryan and led him towards the backdoor, leaving Hope to follow after looking wide eyed at Caroline who just shrugged.

"Um, about what, exactly?" Ryan asked as he glanced back at Hope helplessly.

"Nothing bad." Josie replied.

"That doesn't clear things up at all, Jo." Hope commented.

"Relax Hope. We'll be nice." Lizzie said with a smile.

"I don't believe you, and I would very much like Ryan to stick around. Not be scared off." Hope said with a shake of her head.

Once they were in the backyard, Lizzie and Josie let go of Ryan and he immediately pulled Hope into his embrace.

"You two are adorable together." Lizzie said with a grin.

"Thank you." Hope said. "Now what did you two want to talk about?" She asked.

"Oh, we didn't. It just looked like you two needed saving from the adults." Josie said with a shrug. "So we figured that if we said we wanted to talk to the two of you, it would give you both a chance to breathe. And it gives them all a chance to start getting stuff together for dinner." She added.

"That was really nice of you both, thank you." Ryan said with a sigh of relief.

"I do have one question for you both, though." Lizzie said.

"Okay, what's you're question?" Hope asked.

"Have you two had sex yet?" Lizzie asked.

"LIZZIE!" Hope exclaimed before burying her face in Ryan's chest.

"No, Lizzie, we haven't. We just met 2 days ago, it's way too soon." Ryan replied as he rubbed Hope's back.

"But you want to. I can tell." Lizzie stated.

"Drop it, Liz." Josie warned.

"Yes, please, drop it Lizzie." Hope agreed with Josie.

"Fine. But admit it, Hope, you want to." Lizzie said. "I totally wouldn't blame you for wanting to."

"Lizzie, just stop. He's taken." Josie said.

"And am feeling very objectified right now." Ryan added.

"Plus it's none of your business, Lizzie. Now let's change the subject." Hope said as she held Ryan a little tighter.

"Possessive much, Hope?" Lizzie asked.

"As Josie said, he's taken, so yes." Hope replied while sticking her tongue out at the blonde.

"How about we have some fun?" Ryan asked.

"What do you have in mind?" Hope questioned looking up at him.

"How about a snowman building contest. We each build one, and then after dinner, everyone else in the family comes out to judge." He suggested.

"What about teams?" Josie suggested.

"That would have us win in default. They would be too busy making eyes at each other to focus on their snowman." Lizzie argued.

"I didn't say that it would be you and me versus them." Josie pointed out.

"I love you both, but I'm with Lizzie on this one. If we do teams, I wouldn't want to go against Ryan." Hope said.

"Fine, all of us can build one." Josie said with a sigh.

Over the next 30 minutes, the four of them worked on their individual snowmen. But as soon as Hope was done with hers, she took a handful of snow, snuck up behind Ryan and dropped it down the back of his shirt. Spinning around with wide eyes, Ryan took in Hope's innocent expression, and the fact that she was holding her hands behind her back and a smirk tugged at his lips.

"You, Hope Mikaelson, are such a child." He said slowly as he bent down and grabbed a handful of snow himself.

"Ryan Clarke, don't you dare." Hope said as she watched his movements.

"You started this, Hope. It's only fair that I get to return the favor. And believe me, Sweetheart, I'm going to enjoy this." Ryan replied as he closed the distance between them and let the snow fall from his hand onto the top of Hope's head and slightly down the back of her dress.

Hope shivered as she locked eyes with Ryan. Standing on her toes, she draped her arms over his shoulders and silently performed a spell that sent a snowball flying at the back of Ryan's head. From where they were watching the interaction, Josie and Lizzie couldn't help but laugh as the snowball hit Ryan, causing him to stumble forward, right into Hope, only to wrap his arms around her quickly to stop her from falling as he got his footing.

"Are you always this clumsy?" Hope asked.

"I'm not the one who has fallen into my arms 3 times since we met." Ryan replied.

"That doesn't even make sense." Lizzie commented from across the yard.

"That's besides the point, Lizzie." Josie muttered.

"No it's not. It is physically impossible for someone to fall into their own arms, even if they are clumsy." Lizzie argued.

"Are you two done?" Hope asked, glancing over at her sisters.

"Oh, we're just waiting for you to kiss your boyfriend after you caused him to fall into you." Lizzie replied with a smirk.

"What do you think, Sweetheart? It would be rude to deny our fans." Ryan said with a wink.

"I don't know. Maybe we should make them wait in anticipation." Hope replied.

"I'm not sure if _I_ can wait, Sweetheart. There's never not been a time since we've met that I haven't wanted to kiss you." Ryan admitted.

"Then what are you waiting for?" Hope asked.

"For the pretty girl to give me permission to kiss her." Ryan said and Hope felt her heart flutter in her chest as she nodded and Ryan leaned in and captured her lips in a deep kiss.

As the kiss went on, Ryan pulled Hope back up into a standing position and gripped her hips, keeping her close. Before it could get to much farther, however, a snowball flew through the air, hitting them both, causing Hope and Ryan to break apart and look over at Lizzie and Josie, both of whom were pointing at the other. Glancing at each other, the couple shared a smirk before both grabbing some snow and throwing it at Lizzie and Josie. And while the snowball fight didn't get nearly as intense at the one a couple days ago, it was just as fun, and left Ryan with a feeling of belonging to a family completely. And when the fight was cut short because it was time to head to dinner, Ryan knew while Hope was the only family that he needed, he didn't mind having the rest of her family as his family as well.

 **TVD/TO/Legacies – HAFF – TVD/TO/Legacies**

The drive to the mansion was a bit awkward for Ryan. While Josie and Lizzie had accepted him with ease, and he had Hope by his side, he could tell by their questions that Hayley and Caroline were still a bit wary about him. He had taken some baby steps forward with Hayley that morning, but she was still Hope's mother, so Ryan didn't blame her for wanting to know more about him before making a final decision on whether she approved of him or not. But it wasn't the conversation that made the drive awkward, though. It was the fact that while leaning into his side, Hope kept trailing her hand up and down his thigh. He had no idea if she knew what he had dreamed about that afternoon, but whether she did or not, and whether she knew what she was doing or not, she was turning him on... and that was not something he needed when he saw her father again.

"Hope, Sweetheart, I really need you to stop doing that." Ryan muttered against into her ear as he pressed a kiss to her temple.

"Oh, sorry." Hope mumbled as she moved her hand into her lap.

"Ryan, did Hope tell you that Elena said that you are able to stay their place?" Hayley asked, eyeing the two of them in the review mirror.

"I wasn't going to say anything until Aunt Elena told me that she had talked to Uncle Elijah." Hope said. "I didn't want to get your hopes up if, for whatever reason, Uncle Elijah said no. Which I doubt he would." She added before pressing her lips to his in a kiss.

"Remember Hope, Elena had rules that will need to be followed." Hayley commented.

"I know, Mom." Hope said with a sigh.

"What would these rules be?" Ryan asked as his hand fell onto Hope's thigh and trailed his fingers along her exposed skin.

"There's actually only one. And it, uh, goes along with a deal you made with my dad, about no more sleepovers. So um, at least one of the bathroom doors between the two rooms has to be closed at all times." Hope explained before biting her bottom lip and Ryan lightly squeezed her thigh.

"I can agree to those terms." Ryan replied with a smirk and a wink.

It was a few minutes later that they pulled up to the mansion, and Hope noticed that there was an extra car than there should have been. As they all piled out of the car, followed by Hope's aunts from the car behind them, Hope found out why. Waiting in front of the house, with his hands in his suit pants pockets, and a huge smile on his face, stood her adopted brother, Marcel. As soon as he saw Hope, Marcel came over and pulled her into a huge hug, all while eyeing Ryan over Hope's shoulder.

"Hope? Care to introduce me?" Ryan asked.

"Ryan, this is Marcel. My adopted brother. Marcel, this is Ryan. My... eventual boyfriend." Hope said with a smile.

"How many family members have given you the 'if you hurt her, I'll hurt you' speech, Ryan?" Marcel asked.

"3." Ryan replied. "But then again, I haven't talked to everyone in the family individually." He added.

"Okay, then you don't need it from me. If Hope is happy, then I'm happy." Marcel said as he stuck out his hand.

"Hope never mentioned that she has a brother." Ryan said.

"To be fair, I was planning on _slowly_ introducing you to my family. Slowly getting you used to the fact that I have a big family. Not bombard you with everyone all at once." Hope said. "And Marcel rarely leaves New Orleans, so meeting him would have requires us to go to Louisiana, and that could have caused some issues if Elijah and Elena weren't with us." She added.

"None of that matters, because I'm here now." Marcel said with a playful smile. "And we should get inside before Klaus gets mad." He added.

"If you don't usually leave New Orleans, then why are you here?" Ryan asked. "Or more importantly, why didn't you arrive with everyone else this morning?" He added.

"I had somethings to take care of before heading up. And I wasn't going to miss seeing the first Christmas that every living Mikaelson sibling is around for." Marcel said.

"Hey Marcel, do you know if there's a spell to destroy the daggers?" Hope asked.

"God, I really wish there is. Klaus' obsession with the daggers is rivaled only by his obsession with Caroline. Thankfully his obsession with Caroline turned into actual reciprocated love." Marcel replied.

"Hope, you, Josie, Lizzie, Freya and Davina are all extremely powerful witches, shouldn't the 5 of you working together be powerful enough to destroy them?" Ryan asked.

"Maybe. I'll have to get them together after tomorrow and see what we come up with. Maybe we can start the new year off without Finn, Elijah, Kol and Rebekah having to worry about being put back into a box."

As the night went on, Hope contemplated, on and off, Ryan's suggestion and Marcel's hopefulness that there was something that could be done about the daggers. Between herself, the twins, Freya and Davina, surely there was something that they could do. Unfortunately, since the daggers didn't harness any magical power, just asking the twins to siphon the magic wouldn't work. But as the night drew to a close, and she and Ryan were getting ready to leave with Elijah and Ryan, Hope pushed it from her mind. Christmas needed to come first and then she could focus on solving the dagger issue.

"You two are aware of the one rule that Elena set, correct?" Elijah asked.

"Yes Uncle Elijah. At least one bathroom door between the two rooms needs to be closed at all times." Hope replied with a yawn.

"Good. As long as you follow that one rule, it'll be our secret if you don't sleep in separate rooms." Elijah said.


	12. Ghost of Christmases Past

Holidays Are for Family

Chapter 12: Ghost of Christmases Past

Despite Elijah's word in the car, Ryan respected his deal to Klaus and didn't sleep in Hope's room that night. He slept in the other room... or at least he intended to sleep in the other room. Every time he closed his eyes to try and get some sleep, he would get flashes from all of the Christmas that he had lived through. All of the miserable and lonely Christmases where he didn't have anyone to spend it with, or when Seylah would dote on Landon as he grew up, giving Landon every toy that he ever wanted. Ryan tried desperately to clear those thoughts from his mind, to focus on what he had now, with Hope, and what he could have with her in the future. But it all just circled back to what he had experienced in the past, and it made it impossible to sleep.

Sitting up, Ryan rested his elbows on his knees and lowered his head to his hand. He could feel the loneliness of the void creeping back in on the edges of his mind and he pressed the heels of his palms to his eyes to try and push it back. He knew he wasn't in the darkness. He wasn't alone. Not anymore. He had Hope, he had her family. He needed to hold onto that. But every time he reminded himself of that, it just made the darkness creep in further on his mind. Giving up on the pretense of spending the night away from Hope, Ryan headed through the bathroom and into Hope's room. He was surprised to still find her awake, given that it was well past midnight at this point, but it helped that he wouldn't be waking her up.

"Ryan? Is everything okay?" Hope asked when she noticed him leaning against the doorframe to the bathroom.

"Couldn't sleep. Haven't had a good Christmas in my life, now that I have one in my grasp, all of the horrible ones that I've lived through have decided to haunt my mind every time I close my eyes." Ryan explained as he pushed off of the wall and moved towards Hope's bed.

"Maybe I can help?" Hope suggested as she moved over to make room for him.

"That's what I am thinking too. If nothing else, having you in my arms." Ryan said as he slid under the covers and wrapped his arms around Hope as she settled against his side. "What are you drawing?" He asked.

"Well, with the talk of Uncle Elijah and Aunt Elena turning the mansion into a school, I was working on some logo designs with different names." Hope said.

"I'm sure they'll appreciate the help." Ryan commented with a kiss to the top of Hope's head. "But how about we do something together?" He asked.

"Like what?"

"What are some family traditions that you usually do, but haven't gotten to do this year because of everything that's been going on?"

"We haven't had a Christmas Bonfire yet. And I'm not sure if we'll have one tomorrow... or I guess later today. But we can't do that now. It's the middle of the night."

"Something tells me that there's more to this bonfire, than it just being a bonfire."

"Well, everyone writes down their wishes for each other on a piece of paper, and then we throw it into the bonfire for luck."

"Is it something that you want to do this year?"

"Yes, but again, I'm not sure if it's going to happen."

"Even if your family doesn't plan on doing it, you and I can do it ourselves. I want you to have an amazing Christmas, Hope."

"You being here is already making it an amazing Christmas."

After moving to place her sketch book on the nightstand, Hope moved to snuggle into Ryan's side and rested her head on his chest. Almost immediately Ryan's arm was around Hope's shoulder and his other hand was rubbing the arm that Hope had draped over Ryan's waist. As they laid there, content to be in each other's arms, Hope moved her head to look up at Ryan before sitting up slightly.

"What were you dreaming about this afternoon?" Hope asked.

"You." Ryan replied after thinking about how he wanted to answer for a minute.

"What about me?" She asked.

"Hope... if I tell you, it'll be all either of us can think about, and if I think about it too much, I'll want to make it a reality sooner than we should." Ryan said with a sigh.

"We were having sex?" Hope asked in a small voice.

"Very close to it, yes." Ryan replied a small nod.

Hope laid back down and gripped Ryan's shirt. They had only known each other for a couple of days, but she felt like they had known each other for so much longer, and the thought of having to wait another 2 ½ years to act on their primal urges to physically be with each other, and to actually be able to be seen with each other in public seemed like a long ways off. There had to be something that they could do that could help, but she couldn't think of what that could be. Before she could figure anything out, the room went completely dark and she was left in nothingness, with only Ryan to keep her tethered to reality.

"No, no, no, NO! Punish me if you want but leave her out of this!" Ryan cried out into the void that surrounded them.

"Ryan, what's going on?" Hope asked in a small voice.

"Hope, look at me." Ryan said while taking Hope's face into his hands. "You have to let go of me, Sweetheart. You shouldn't be here." He continued.

"But where _are_ we, Ryan?" Hope questioned.

"We're in my subconscious, the part of my mind that is forever connected to my father. You need to go Hope, please." Ryan begged.

"I'm not leaving you alone here, Ryan." Hope argued, and she saw the darkness move behind Ryan.

"Hope, please. Let go of me. I don't want you to witness what happens here."

"No, Ryan, I'm not leaving. We're supposed to be in this together. Let me help you fight this."

Ryan simply stared into Hope's eyes while still cupping her face. She was right, and he knew that she knew that he knew that. They were in this together. And if their relationship was going to work long term, then she needed to know every part of him. As much as he didn't want her privy to this much of what his father put him through, he was glad that she was willing to stay with him. After pulling her in for a quick kiss, Ryan took Hope's hand in his and laced their fingers together.

"Now what?" Hope asked while glancing around.

"Now we find the light." Ryan said bleakly.

For the next undeterminable amount of time, they walked around in the dark. Hope had no idea if they were still walking in a straight line, or if they had turned at some point, but it felt like they were walking in circles. Nothing but darkness and emptiness surrounded them in every direction, so it really was hard to tell. Every so often she would look at Ryan, and each time she did, it seemed like he was fighting back something painful. So each time she saw that look on the face of the man that she was falling for, Hope would squeeze Ryan's hand and he would give her an appreciative smile that didn't quite reach his eyes.

"This is pointless." Ryan mumbled as he came to a stop. "There's nothing here. There's never anything here. The only difference is that you're with me." He said as he pulled Hope into a hug.

"You were begging me to let go of you when we first got here." Hope commented. "You made it seem like it was solely because you didn't want me to see the horrors that your father has inflicted upon you, but maybe if I do let go, I can pull you back from your subconscious." She theorized.

"It's worth a shot." Ryan said.

"And if it doesn't work?" Hope asked.

"I have faith in you, Hope. I have faith that you will be able to pull me back." Ryan replied before capturing her lips in a brief kiss. "And know that I love you, Hope Mikaelson. Whether this idea works or not, I love you."

"Ryan..." Hope said softly.

"We're in my subconscious, remember. Everything that I'm truly feeling whether I'm able to say it out loud or not, is all here." Ryan commented. "So even if I'm not able to say it just yet, know that I do." He added before giving Hope another kiss.

"I love you too, Ryan." Hope replied as she let her hand fall to her side.

"See you soon, Sweetheart."

And with that, Hope was back in her room. She moved away from Ryan's side and sat up on her knees. He was completely still and that scared her. There was no way of knowing if Malivore had been waiting for her to leave before starting his torture of Ryan, or if Ryan was now just utterly alone in his subconscious. But either way, she needed to bring him back to her. With a deep breath, Hope moved to straddle Ryan's lap and leaned down, pressing her lips to his in a deep kiss. It took a moment, but soon enough Hope knew that Ryan's consciousness was regaining the control over his subconscious. His arms came up to wrap around her body and he was kissing her back. When he rolled them over, Hope knew that Ryan was completely back.

"Thank you, Sweetheart." Ryan muttered.

"How would I go about bringing you back if I'm not there when you slip into your subconscious?" Hope asked.

"If you come into the room and find me completely motionless, and it there's no signs of someone having killed me, do what you just did. I promise it'll work every time." Ryan replied. "You are my light, Hope."

"About what we told each other..." Hope trailed off.

"You don't have to say it out loud right now, Hope." Ryan cut her off. "It's okay."

"I know, but I want to." Hope replied.

"Hope..."

"Ryan, I love you. I know it's only been a few days, but there is a such thing as love at first sight, and while my head might not have realized it at first, every other part of me knew. My heart, my soul... I love you Ryan Clarke." Hope said before pulling him down for a kiss.

"Hope..." Ryan whispered against her lips. "I'm losing my grip on my ability to stop this." He muttered as he started kissing along her jaw. "Please, tell me to stop, Hope." He breathed into her ear.

"I don't want you to stop." Hope muttered back.

"Please Hope... I need you to tell me to stop." Ryan said as his hands pushed the hem of Hope's top up and leaned down to press his lips to the exposed skin.

"Ryan..." Hope's voice waivered around his name as she suppressed a moan. "Stop."

Ryan gripped the sheets on either side of Hope's body and rested his head on her shoulder as both of their breathing returned to normal. Moving off of Hope, Ryan sat on the edge of the bed with his head in his hands again as Hope kneeled behind him and draped her arms over his shoulders and pressed a kiss to his cheek.

"What happened, Ryan?" Hope asked.

"I don't know. It's been a while since I was last pulled into my subconscious, and this was the first time I had someone that was willing to pull me out before my father was done torturing me with my own memories. I just had an overwhelming urge to possess you." Ryan replied as he turned his head and looked up at her. "I'm so sorry Hope." He added as he blinked away the tears that were forming in his eyes.

"I know what it's like to not be in control of your own mind, Ryan. And I know that you wouldn't do to me what's already been done." Hope said as she lowered herself to rest her chin on his shoulder. "The Hollow that my parents and I were talking about yesterday... she was my ancestor. An immensely powerful witch that her tribe, and the surrounding tribes, feared because of her power. Right before she was killed by her own mother, she placed the werewolf curse on the different tribes, creating the werewolf bloodlines. She was the first, and I was the last. She possessed me in a way that I can't explain. If my family hadn't figured out how to defeat her when they did, chances are we wouldn't all be here right now. My father, Kol, Elijah and Rebekah were all set to take a piece of the Hollow into themselves. If they had, they wouldn't have been able to be in proximity to each other, or to me." She explained.

"I'm so sorry, Hope." Ryan repeated as he pulled her into his lap.

"Don't be." Hope replied.

"He knows, Hope. He knows how I feel about you, and he'll try to use you as leverage against me."

"Then he won't know what's coming for him. His first mistake was torturing you in the first place for something you had no control over."

 **TVD/TO/Legacies – HAFF – TVD/TO/Legacies**

Elijah clenched his hands into fists as he listened to Hope and Ryan's conversation. He knew that he shouldn't have been, but he couldn't help it. Unlike some of his other enhanced senses and skills, his vampiric hearing was nothing something he could control when he wanted to. He was able to tune it out most of the time, but when it was the middle of the night, and the only other sound in the house other than Elena was Hope and Ryan talking, it was next to impossible to tune out his niece's conversation.

"You heard all of that too, right?" Elijah asked.

"I did." Elena said with a nod and a frown.

"What are we going to do about it?" Elijah questioned.

"Ryan said that Malivore is currently a pit in a secret facility in Georgia. And that he can only be risen with three artifacts that act as keys to his imprisonment. So we are going to have a nice family Christmas celebration, and then we will bring everyone up to date on the Malivore situation after that. Possibly hold off until the New Year, if we can, so that everyone can enjoy the holidays in a somewhat normal manner." Elena explained.

"You've definitely changed your outlook on life since we first met all those years ago, Elena." Elijah said with a smile as he kissed her shoulder.

"It's been nearly 20 years, Elijah. If I was still that same naïve teenager that you first met, I would question your mental state, as well as my own." Elena replied with a smirk. "But speaking of change... I have an idea for the wedding party, if you're interested." She added.

"What do you have in mind My Dear, Sweet Elena?" Elijah asked as he trailed his fingers up her arm.

"Well, Bonnie refuses to answer any of mine or Caroline's calls or texts, and when we try to go by her house to see her, she refuses to even open the door. So what I'm thinking is that your brothers and possibly Ryan could be your groomsmen, and then I'll have Caroline, Hope, Josie and Lizzie as my bridesmaids. And then Jer and Ric can both give me away." Elena explained.

"I'm sorry that our relationship, and Caroline's relationship with Niklaus has lost both of you your friendship with Bonnie. You know that was never _my_ intention when I finally admitted my feelings for you." Elijah said. "But that does sound like a fine idea for the wedding party. I know that Hope would appreciate us including Ryan." He added.

"That she would." Elena agreed with a nod.

"What about my sisters?" Elijah asked. "I don't want Freya and Rebekah to feel left out when Niklaus, Finn and Kol are in the wedding."

"Rebekah expressed an interest in helping plan the wedding." Elena said. "And by 'help' she meant she wants to plan our wedding." She added with a smirk.

"Should I be concerned about what she has in mind if we allow her to do so?"

"Probably, but I told her that while her suggestions will be appreciated, that you and I will be making all of the decisions, and if she doesn't like what we decide on, then it's on her whether she comes to the wedding or not."

"How did she take that?"

"Like a champ... after she pursed her lips at me."

"That is definitely Rebekah."

With a small laugh, Elena put her notebook with notes for the wedding on her nightstand and reached to turn off her light. After resituating the covers over her body, Elena scooting over to curl up against Elijah's side and rested her head on his chest. After putting his book on his own nightstand, Elijah turned off his light as well and got comfortable next to his fiancée.

"Elijah... should we tell Klaus and Hayley that Hope loves Ryan?" Elena asked.

"No. That would cause a lot more problems for them. Niklaus will argue that it's too early, and he might go back on his word to Hope about not hurting Ryan. It would be better for everyone if we let them tell Niklaus and Hayley in their own time." Elijah replied before placing a kiss on Elena's forehead. "We should get some sleep. It's going to be an eventful Christmas Day." He said. "Good night, My Dear, Sweet Elena."

"Good night, Elijah."

 **TVD/TO/Legacies – HAFF – TVD/TO/Legacies**

The following morning, Hope was woken up by Ryan lightly sucking on her neck as his hands ran up and down her sides. Letting out a soft moan, she turned her head to give him more access and Hope felt Ryan smirk against her neck.

"Someone's eager this morning." Ryan commented with a smirk.

"It's not every day that a girl gets woken up by the man she loves giving her a hickey." Hope replied sleepily. "You better wish that I can cover this with some makeup, or else my father is going to kill you." She added.

"Would you prefer I leave one where your father won't see it? Because I can easily do that." Ryan offered with a wink.

"Are you feeling okay?" Hope asked as she gazed up at him.

"I feel fine. Why do you ask?"

"Um, because we were pulled into the darkest part of your subconscious."

"I'm with the woman that I love, who loves me in return. I've never been better, Sweetheart."

Hope sat up and stared intently at Ryan. He had a mask on. Hiding away the bad parts of the night before. And frankly, Hope didn't like it. She didn't want him to think or feel like he had to hide parts of him away from her. Yes, she was only 15, but she was a lot more mature that most people gave her credit for, and she couldn't help Ryan with how he was feeling if he locked all the bad away and slipped behind a mask.

"Ryan... what happened last night?" Hope asked she asked as she moved from underneath him and pulled her legs up to her chest so that she could rest her chin on her knees.

"This isn't fooling you, is it?" Ryan questioned as he let out a sigh.

"No, it isn't. It's one thing to put on a façade with the rest of my family until you feel completely comfortable around them, but I don't want you to hide behind that with me. I love you, and I want to help you work through the residual aftereffects of everything you've been through, but I can't do that if you hide what's happened to you from me." Hope said as she pulled Ryan in for a kiss. "Please don't hide from me." She added in between kisses.

"I can't promise that I'll be able to stop completely right away, but I will do my best." Ryan replied.

"I love you, Ryan Clarke."

"I love you too, Hope Mikaelson."

With one more quick kiss, they broke apart and started getting ready for the day. The hickey that Ryan had left on Hope's neck ended up being considerably smaller than she had thought it would be, and it was easily covered with some concealer. However, since neither were sure when they would be heading over to the mansion, neither put on the outfits that Rebekah had given them. Hope pulled on a pair of lounge pants and a loose sweater while Ryan wore a pair of jeans and t-shirt. When they got downstairs, Hope was surprised to see Alaric sitting in the living room with Elena and Elijah.

"Alaric, what are you doing here?" Hope asked.

"Well, Caroline has the girls, so I came over here to be with Elena. How are you two doing after all of the excitement last night?" Alaric asked.

"We're uh, we're fine. It wasn't too bad. Everyone was very welcoming of Ryan when we talked to them." Hope stuttered slightly before making a beeline towards the kitchen.

"Neither of us could really get to sleep last night. So we stayed up talking." Ryan offered before following Hope's path to the kitchen, pretending not to catch the look on Alaric's face that said he didn't believe that story for a second.

The rest of the morning went by pretty smoothly. Neither Elijah nor Elena commented on the conversation that they had overheard Hope and Ryan have in the middle of the night, and Hope and Ryan didn't bring up what happened. Around noon the five of them, Hope, Ryan, Elijah, Elena and Alaric, all climbed into Alaric's car and drove to the mansion together. Upon arriving at the mansion, however, Hope and Elena were sent upstairs to get ready with the other girls while Ryan, Elijah and Alaric were led into the parlor. The second that they were separated, Ryan felt the darkness gnawing at the edges of his mind. All he could wish is that they wouldn't be apart for too long.


	13. Christmas Bonfire

Holidays Are for Family

Chapter 13: Christmas Bonfire

After getting her dress on, Hope waited impatiently before she could head back downstairs. Something was telling her that Ryan needed her, but Rebekah was insisting that all the girls get their hair done for the party. Hope didn't understand why that was even necessary, as the only people that were going to be at the party was family. But she kept her mouth shut. She would just grin and bare it until she was released, and then she would be back at Ryan's side. After the night that they had had, she was worried about him. She was worried about what Malivore had planned now that he knew that Ryan had someone in his life that loved him. She was worried that she wouldn't be able to continue to keep Ryan from slipping back into his own mind. Before she knew it, however, her aunts had finished her hair and makeup, and Hope was allowed to leave. Making her way to the top of the stairs, the chatter amongst the men in her family fell silent. Hope searched among the guys for Ryan, but when she didn't see him, she sought out her father who met her halfway on the stairs and whispered in her ear that Ryan was in the parlor, waiting for her.

"Ryan?" Hope called out as she knocked on the closed door. "It's me. Can I come in?" She asked.

"Hope..."

The pain that laced Ryan's voice had Hope rushing into the room and dropping to her knees next to him so that she could take his face in her hands. When he lifted his gaze to meet hers, Ryan's eyes were filled with tears and he had a pained look on his face.

"Hey, talk to me. What's wrong?" Hope asked desperately as she helped him to the small couch.

"He's trying to pull me back to him, Hope. I'm trying to resist, but each time I do, he doubles down on his efforts." Ryan replied as he clutched his head. "Please, Hope, make it stop."

Hope was at a loss at what to do. There was a chance that her blood might help him, but at the same time, since he wasn't a vampire, a witch or a werewolf, she wasn't sure if her blood would help or just make things worse. But she didn't see any other choice in the matter. Moving her bracelet down her arm, Hope bit into her wrist and held it up to Ryan's lips, urging him to drink. Once his expression started to return to normal, and it lost the look of pain, Hope pulled her wrist away and simply held Ryan's hand with hers while running the fingers of her other hand through his hair. It was a few minutes of them sitting like that while Ryan focused on breathing as the pain subsided before he turned to look at her.

"Thank you, Hope." Ryan whispered.

"We need to find a more permanent solution for this happens again. I don't know if my blood is good for you long term." Hope replied as she brought the hand that she was holding to her lips and kissed his knuckles.

"And we will. But tomorrow. I want to spend Christmas Day putting a smile on your face." Ryan said as he pulled her onto his lap.

"I won't have a smile on my face if he comes after you like that again." Hope replied as she rested her head against his shoulder.

"I'm sorry if I scared you." Ryan said softly.

"I had a feeling that something was wrong when I was upstairs. I should have come down sooner. So if anyone should be sorry, and should be apologizing, it should be me." Hope said as she tilted Ryan's face down to look into his eyes.

"It's not your responsibility to take care of everyone, Hope."

"I know, but it is my responsibility to take care of you. And it's yours to take care of me, right?"

Ryan nods slowly but doesn't get a chance to respond because they are interrupted by a knock on the door accompanied by Klaus' voice asking if everything was alright. When neither Hope nor Ryan answer, Klaus slips into the room with them, followed by Hayley. For some reason, having her parents there has tears filling in Hope's eyes and she quickly buries her face in Ryan's neck.

"What happened Ryan?" Hayley asked.

"In the simplest terms, I had a panic attack. After what I did yesterday, leaving Seylah and Landon to fend for themselves, my father is angry. He's trying to pull me back in. It started last night, and while Hope was able to help make it stop then, the second we were separated when we got here, it started to come back. Klaus, I know we made a deal of no sleeping in Hope's room, but her presence is the only thing that is keeping my father at bay." Ryan explained.

"Okay. Then until we figure things out, you and Hope can sleep in the same room. But still no sex. She's too young." Klaus said after a moment.

"I can still hear you; you know." Hope muttered. "So please don't talk about me like I'm not here."

"Starting tomorrow we'll get to work on figure out something that can sever your connection to your father." Hayley said.

"Thank you, both. I know that none of this is easy to take in, especially when worrying about your daughter's safety and happiness, so I appreciate everything that you're all doing for me." Ryan said with grateful smile.

Hope was the only one that noticed the smile didn't reach Ryan's eyes.

 **TVD/TO/Legacies – HAFF – TVD/TO/Legacies**

The rest of the day went by in a blur of Christmas. Hope didn't leave Ryan's side and if she did, she always stayed within an arm's reach of him. She wasn't sure if anyone else in the family noticed, but if they did, no one commented on it. Gifts were exchanged after a late lunch, everyone seemed to have a gift to give to Ryan. Both he and Hope were surprised, simply due to the fact that the only family members that had known him longer than a day had been Elijah and Elena, but Hope was happy that her family had accepted him into the fold. Things took a turn, in a good way, when Caroline mentioned that she had a karaoke machine at her house. Kol, always the mischievous one, suggested Christmas Karaoke, and everyone started discussing who would be singing what once Caroline got back the machine. Kol immediately regretted his suggestion when Davina told him that he would be singing the 12 Days of Christmas, without complaint.

"What song are you going to sing, Sweetheart?" Ryan asked as he wrapped his arms around her waist and rested his chin on the top of her head.

"I'm not really one for singing. Not even in front of my family. But if you sing with me, and didn't judge me if it doesn't go well, then I wouldn't mind singing." Hope replied as she leaned back into his embrace.

"I have a very specific song in mind." Ryan agreed.

"What song?" Hope asked.

"All I Want for Christmas."  
"I love that song. And I think it's appropriate for us."  
"Your parents might not agree. And speaking of which... I should probably get on your step-father's good side. I've got my foot in the door of being on your father's good side."

"Funny, I didn't realize my father actually had a good side."

With a small laugh, Ryan took Hope's hand in his and turned to seek out Jackson. When they had circled the entire party and hadn't found Jackson, or even Hayley, Ryan suggested the check upstairs, but Hope quickly shook her head no. She recounted the conversation that she had had with her mom about her and Jackson trying for a baby, and Hope was sure that if they weren't at the party, that chances were they were upstairs having sex. And that was something she definitely did not want to see. So instead, they went looking for Klaus to let him know that they were going to step outside for some air.

"We never did get a judging on who's snowman was the best." Hope commented as she linked her arm with Ryan's and leaned into his side.

"I know who's snowman I would have picked." Ryan commented with a smile.

"Let me guess... yours? Wait... no... it was Lizzie's right? Or was it Josie's?" Hope joked.

"Hey, just as I only have eyes for you, my snowman only had eyes for yours. It was beautiful, Hope." Ryan replied. "And I know I haven't gotten a chance to tell you this yet, but you look amazing today." He added as he turned to Hope and cupped her face in his hands before giving her a kiss.

"We also haven't talked to the family about the Christmas Bonfire." Hope muttered against Ryan's lips.

"We will, Sweetheart. I promise you that." Ryan said with a smile.

"I love you, Ryan Clarke."

"I love you too, Hope Mikaelson."

With another quick kiss, the couple walked about the grounds looking for wood that could be used for the bonfire. By the time they had a decent pile gathered in the driveway, Caroline had returned with the karaoke machine, and the three of them headed back inside. And while Klaus and Elijah got it hooked up to the TV and the surround sound, Ryan cleared his throat to get everyone's attention.

"I know that I am the odd one out here. I've known Elijah and Elena for a few months, I've only known Hope for a few days, and the rest of you I just met yesterday. But in that short period of time, whether I've talked to you individually or not, each of you has made me feel like I'm as much a part of the family as anyone else. So because of that, and because I want Hope to have the best Christmas possible, I would like to ask all of you to please follow Hope and I outside." Ryan said.

No one knew what to do for a moment. So everyone just stood around, looking at each other before Hope started to get upset. She could feel her magic responding to her emotions and she reached out for Ryan's hand to steady herself. Her emotions leveled out, and her magic settled down as soon as their hands touched. Blinking back tears, Hope slowly looked at everyone in her family.

"We have not had a full family Christmas my entire life. I don't think there has ever been a full family Christmas for this family, ever. So I want to have a Christmas Bonfire. Ryan and I already piled the wood for it and it's outside in the driveway. This is something that is very important for me, so I would greatly appreciate it if you would all stop standing around looking at each other and do what Ryan asked." Hope said.

Not waiting to see if anyone listened to her, Hope turned around and headed outside, taking Ryan's hand in hers as she went. By the time the rest of the family got outside, Hope had conjured up slips of paper and a bowl and was in the process of writing everyone's name on each slip of paper. Once everyone had formed a circle around what would soon be the bonfire, Hope looked at her family.

"For those of you who don't know what this is, or what this tradition is supposed to accomplish, it's simple. Each of us will draw a single person's name from the bowl. The name that you draw is the person that you write a wish for. Once you've written your wish, you toss it into the bonfire for luck. You can't tell anyone who you got, or what your wish for them is." Hope explained as the bowl was passed around.

When the bowl got back to her and Ryan, Ryan let Hope take a slip of paper first before grabbing the last one. Hope's breath hitched slightly when she unfolded the paper and saw Ryan's name on it. She looked up at him and saw that he was staring back at her intently. Clearing her throat, Hope looked around at her family and saw that everyone seemed to be trying to look at the person they got without being overtly obvious about it, and she knew that she hadn't just gotten Ryan's name. He had gotten hers as well. Silently telling Ryan to turn around, Hope used his back to write her wish for him. Once she was done, Hope turned around so that Ryan could write his wish as well. As soon as he was done himself, Ryan turned Hope around and pressed his lips to hers, not caring that her entire family was watching.

"I love you, Hope." Ryan whispered against her lips.

"I love you too, Ryan." Hope replied.

Glancing around Hope saw her father looking at them intently with a slight frown on his face. Hope guessed he had heard their whispered words. But he wasn't making his way over to them, so she figured that he was going to let it slide for now, and that he would address it later on. Shifting her gaze from her father to the rest of her family, Hope realized that everyone seemed to have finished writing their wishes. With a smile, Hope took Ryan's hand in hers and stepped towards the pile of wood.

" _Incendia_." Hope said waving her hand at the wood, setting it aflame.

Squeezing Ryan's hand, they both tossed their wishes into the fire. As the rest of the family tossed their wishes in as well, Hope felt a tingling around her wrist. Glancing down, she saw Ryan's wish for her appear in what she could only assume was his handwriting. As she slowly lifted her eyes up to Ryan's, Hope realized that Ryan's eyes were on his own wrist. Taking Ryan's wrist into her hands, Hope saw her own handwriting appearing on his skin in the form of her wish for him.

"This is a new development." Klaus commented and Hope looked at her father. "Usually one doesn't see what has been wished for them by another."

"How is this possible? I thought we weren't supposed to know what was wished for us?" Hope asked.

"We're not. But there's nothing that we can do about it now." Klaus replied with shrug.

Hope frowned before turning around and storming back inside the mansion. Ryan glanced over at Klaus for a brief moment who nodded before taking off after Hope. He was surprised that for a girl in heels and a dress, that Hope was already at the top of the stairs. Taking the stairs 2 at a time, Ryan hurried after her, quickly finding her outside one of the smaller rooms. When she heard him coming, Hope turned her head away to hide the tears that were falling but didn't move away when Ryan pulled her in to his embrace.

"Talk to me Sweetheart." Ryan whispered.

"We weren't supposed to know what the wishes were. That's the whole point of burning them for luck. So that we don't actually know what was wished for. They weren't supposed to appear on our wrists." Hope replied as she wiped her tears away.

"For what it's worth, I appreciate what you wished for." Ryan commented.

"I do too." Hope admitted. "But we still weren't supposed to know." She repeated.

"What can I do to make you feel better? I don't like seeing you upset." Ryan asked before lightly pushing Hope against the wall next to the door and leaning down to press his lips to her neck.

"Speed time up to when I'm 18 and you can take me to bed like we both want you to." Hope replied with a soft hum.

"I doubt that even then your father would approve. I have a feeling that while he might accept me into the family and approve of me being the man you spend the rest of you life with, he'll never fully be okay with knowing his baby girl has become sexually active." Ryan commented. "But in the meantime..." he added as he wrapped an arm around her waist to pull her body flush against his and captured her lips with his in a deep kiss. "I will kiss you anytime you want me to. I will touch you whenever you want me to. I will hold you whenever you need me to. I will be by your side every waking moment of the day. I will keep you safe every sleeping moment of the day. You told me the other day that I'm stuck with you, Hope. Well this is me telling you that you're stuck with me too." He vowed and Hope's breath caught in her throat.

"How long did it take you to memorize that speech?" Hope asked with a small smile.

"I didn't memorize it. It's how I truly feel, Hope. I want to be the one you turn to when you're upset so that I'm the one that makes you feel better."

Hope's smile widened as her face lit up. Wrapping her arms around his neck, Hope pulled Ryan in for another kiss. Keeping a firm hold on Ryan during the kiss, Hope searched out behind her for the doorknob and pulled them into the room, using magic to close and lock the door behind them. Breaking the kiss for a brief moment, Hope pushed Ryan's tux jacket from his shoulders and onto the floor before making quick work of the buttons on his shirt.

"Hope..." Ryan said warningly.

"I want to see you shirtless." Hope said, her eyes darkening.

"You did... yesterday. Remember? When you gave me the massage?" Ryan reminded her as he lightly grasped her wrists.

"Just once I would like you to not stop us." Hope said with a frown.

"Hope, I want to have sex with you more than anything, but I also want to make you happy for the rest of your life. If we do the former, I won't be able to do the latter. I love you, but until you're at least 18, we can't have sex."

Hope pulled away from Ryan and moved to sit on the bed. Pulling her knees to her chest, Hope rested her cheek on top of them and faced away from Ryan. The tears had come back and Ryan felt like a jerk for being the cause of these. Running a hand over his face, Ryan moved to sit next to Hope on the bed and pulled her into his chest.

"Please don't cry, Sweetheart." He muttered as he pressed his lips to her temple.

"How can you really, truly love me when I keep making the same mistake over and over again?" Hope muttered.

"Because my love for you is in spite of any mistakes. But wanting to have sex... that's not a mistake, Hope. You're a teenage girl living in a time where you're made to believe that the only way to show a guy you love them is to have sex with them." Ryan said as he repositioned them against the pillows. "But that's not what I need from you, Hope."

"I'm not talking about wanting to have sex in general being the mistake, Ryan. I'm talking about specifically wanting to have sex with you, knowing that you'll stop it." Hope replied as tears still fell down her cheeks.

"That's not a mistake, either, Hope. You want to have sex with me, so you keep trying, wishing that I'll give in. And maybe one day in the near future I will, but for right now, I'm going to continue to stop us from going there. I don't want you to stop trying, though. I honestly can't express how happy it makes me that you know what I am, and you are still wanting to have sex with me."

"You thought I wouldn't want to be with you like that because you're a golem?"

"It's not exactly outside the realm of possibility, Hope. I don't have a lot, or any, long term relationships to reference, simply because I am a golem."

"That changes now, Ryan Clarke."

Ryan gave Hope a half smile and pressed a kiss to her forehead. After laying on the bed with Hope wrapped tightly in his arms for a few more minutes, Ryan let out a sigh. They had been gone long enough, and if they didn't get back downstairs soon, they were surely bound to be found, and there was no good way to explain why his shirt was open and Hope was laying on top of him in bed without him getting into trouble with Klaus and Hayley. Rolling over so that hovering above Hope, Ryan pressed his lips to hers before moving off of the bed to rebutton his shirt and to grab his jacket from the floor.

"Are you going to be okay to head back downstairs, Sweetheart? Or do you want me to go tell your family that you're going to be skipping Christmas Karaoke?" Ryan asked as he stepped in between Hope's legs as she moved to sit on the edge of the bed.

"That depends... will I get a special Christmas present if I go back downstairs?" Hope asked while tilting her head and biting her lower lip.

"You are a little minx, Hope Mikaelson. A minx that will eventually get me into a lot of trouble with your family." Ryan said and smiled when Hope let out a small giggle.

"I do take after my dad and uncle in that regard." Hope commented.

"And here I thought I was dating you, not your father and uncle."

Hope stared up at Ryan with wide eyes. Ryan had been the one between the two of them over the past few days that was taking those steps to make sure they stayed planted in the here and now, and that they weren't getting ahead of themselves in their relationship. And they had only been on one date in those few days, so hearing him say that they were dating, it surprised Hope in the best way possible. She tried to get her mouth to form the question she wanted to ask for what his words were implying, but no sound came out. Ryan seemed to understand what Hope was trying to say and nodded.

"Yes Hope, we are dating. And, if you'll have me as such, I would very much like to be your boyfriend."


End file.
